Summer Romance
by ktface3
Summary: JAM. Or PB&J. Whatever you'd care to call it. This is the summer in between the show's seasons 3 and 4, when they're secretly dating. Now complete! Please review and give constructive criticism.
1. It's Just Dinner

_Author's note: this is my first attempt at actually writing fiction as opposed to a simple storyline, so please review and give constructive criticism. This takes place in between seasons 3 and 4, during the summer when Jim and Pam were secretly dating. I don't own these characters (sigh) or the Incubus song this story is named after, so don't sue. I wouldn't have much money for you to sue me over anyway. More chapters to follow. Enjoy! _

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Pam was practically trembling with joy as she applied her eyeliner, almost smearing it. She couldn't understand why her nerves were getting the best of her; after all, it was just dinner with Jim. She had gone out plenty of times with him—to Poor Richard's, or to the roof to have his famous sandwiches. But this felt different. 

"_Alright… then it's a date."_

The words were ringing in her ears as she slipped on a pale yellow, knee-length summer dress. She had just bought it, hoping she could use it for a special occasion, and this seemed like the perfect one. She knew wearing it to work was out of the question; even though it was only slightly lower-cut than the button-downs she usually wore, she knew Michael would make a big fuss over the simple act of wearing a dress instead of her regular ensemble. She wanted this dress to be for certain eyes only, and luckily those certain eyes had asked her to dinner.

Jim swallowed again; trying to clear the permanent lump in is throat, as he drove to pick Pam up. Finally, he was going to go on an actual date with the girl he'd been dreaming about dating for years. He prayed that he wouldn't say anything stupid tonight as he pulled into her apartment complex. He grabbed the fresh flowers he bought for her from the passenger's seat, and made his way up to the building to ring her bell.

She had seen him coming though, because by the time he got up to the door, she was there to greet him. She smiled when she saw his hair was back to its normal style; she thought that suited him better anyway. And he looked stunning in his good suit, the one he had worn to his interview earlier that day in New York. Jim was already tall, but this suit made him look ten miles long. He was perfectly polished.

His stomach did flips when he saw her: her hair was in soft ringlet curls and pinned back behind her ears, and she was wearing a pale yellow dress that hugged her waist perfectly. But perhaps her most beautiful accessory was her smile, the smile she wore whenever she saw him.

"Hi!" she greeted him excitedly.

"Hey.. how are you?" Her tried to sound like his calm and cool self, but he felt a twinge of nervousness in his voice.

"I'm great.. Oh, flowers! You really didn't have to—"

"I know. Uh, it just felt appropriate." He felt very sheepish as he handed them to her. She smelled them intently, and he couldn't help but cock his head to the side and relish in how adorable she looked.

"I should put these in water. Do you mind coming upstairs for a sec?"

"No, definitely not."

"Okay, come on in," She opened the door for him and they climbed the stairs to the second floor of her building and went into her apartment. Inside, Jim couldn't help but notice that the walls were covered in her art; it wasn't just a well-hung painting here and there, she had filled her walls with watercolors.

"Wow, Beesly, you having an art show in here?"

"Oh, well my instructor wants me to donate a couple to display in their building, and I just don't know which ones I want to give up. I thought this would help me.. but I think this just made the decision that much more difficult."

"Well they all look amazing.. Any one you pick will be great."

"Thanks," she blushed as she set the flowers in a vase and put it on her kitchen counter. "So hey.. you never said how your interview went." She half-knew he'd never ask her on a date if he had gotten the job and was moving to New York, but she wanted to make sure.

"Oh, well, uh, about halfway through the interview, I told David Wallace I changed my mind.." She looked at him with a look of shock on her face that he would say something like that to the CFO of the company, and he felt compelled to go on. "Yeah, I told him I'd miss working with people."

"Oh.. I didn't think you wanted to be in sales forever.."

"I don't…. Uh, it was a great opportunity, but it just didn't feel right to me." They exchanged glances knowing what he really meant by 'miss working with people.' The only thing he would've really missed was working with her.

"Well, that's fair," she stated, just to break the silence. "Wanna go?"

"Absolutely." He gave her a smile and she giggled a little, and with that, they were off to dinner. Pam felt strange driving in Jim's car; he had The Format playing and he was tapping along to the music on the steering wheel. But he kept looking over at her, and it made her a little uneasy, like she was under surveillance. _He_ simply couldn't believe she was in his car; he had to keep looking over to make sure she wouldn't disappear into thin air or something.

They arrived at the restaurant, and Jim escorted her inside. Pam couldn't believe what a perfect gentleman Jim was being. She thought of the mental checklist every woman has of what a man does on a date that makes him chivalrous: opens doors, pulls out chairs, et cetera, and Jim did every single one. She knew Jim was a genuinely nice guy, but she also knew he was consciously trying tonight, and she had to laugh a little to think he was trying to impress her.

"So.." he started in after they had ordered. "Uh, this may be a little awkward, but I need your advice."

"Oh sure, what do you need?"

"Well, ah, I'm technically still dating Karen.."

"Oh." Her eyes widened, and he could almost sense apprehension in them.

"Yeah… but I don't want to be. Uh, that is to say, hah, um.." He stammered as he tried to find the right words. "See, I just don't think Karen.. understands me. She's always questioning things I do or making me talk about things, and not that I don't like talking, but…"

"You don't need to explain," Pam said to save him from tripping over his own words. "Um, what do you want my help for?"

"Oh yeah, uh.. well, I figured since you're so good breaking up with people—I mean, you did call off an entire wedding and all—"

"Oh, come on!" She laughed. This was the first time they were finally being themselves: not nervous or anxious about being on a real "date" with each other, but just being together and teasing each other. "Do you want me to call off your relationship?"

"Nah. Just give me a few pointers, you know…"

"Well, uh.. do you know if _she_ got the job in New York?"

"Ehh, she didn't actually. Guess who did get the job though?"

"Who?" Pam's eyes lit up, hungry for some good gossip.

"Ryan."

"No way!"

"Yep."

"Wow…" The conversation went on like this throughout dinner. They talked about Kelly's temper tantrum when she found out Ryan had gotten the job and was leaving her, about how to easily let Karen down, and about other seemingly random topics that only the two of them would find hilarious, like how Pam felt the need to cut her dinner in half as soon as she got it.

"It helps to portion out the meal!" She insisted.

"Can you believe the look the waiter gave you when you asked for a box right after the food got here!" Jim chuckled. "So judgmental."

"Hah! I know!" Pam decided she could get used to this, especially now that Jim wasn't trying so hard to make an impression her. She knew it may have been too soon, but she had to ask.

"So um, what about us?"

"What do you mean?" Jim inquired, wondering secretly what she thought about her own question.

"Well.. all of this tonight has been amazing, and I'm just wondering if there will be more like it."

"Would you want there to be more of it?" He raised an eyebrow at her, and she had to laugh.

"Yes, I think I would… but I just.. wouldn't want to feel like the other woman," she stated more seriously.

"I can accept that," he agreed. "I was planning on talking to Karen soon anyway."

"The sooner, the better!" Pam exclaimed, and they both laughed at the eagerness in her tone. They split the bill, deciding Jim didn't have to go completely all-out for this date, and he drove her home. And as they sat in the car humming along to The Format, Jim took hold of Pam's hand and kissed it sweetly. She blushed and smiled at him, knowing he didn't want to impress her just then, but that he only wanted to make her smile.

"Well, here we are," Jim announced as they pulled into Pam's apartment complex, and he walked her to the main door. She fiddled with her keys as they said their goodnights.

"Jim, I had a really great time."

"Yeah, this was a lot of fun. Thanks."

"No, thank you!" She giggled. They hugged, and as they began to break apart, they exchanged glances and sensed a spark. They both leaned in and engaged in a soft, sensual kiss that seemed to last forever, even though it was only a couple seconds long. When their lips parted, the both had wide smiles on their faces.

"Um, ok, see you tomorrow," Pam said in a wispy voice.

"Yeah.. Oh! Tomorrow—"

"We don't have to say anything. Just play it cool Halpert." She winked at him, and he laughed. "Goodnight." She went inside and left him at the front door.

"Goodnight, Pam," he whispered, and he walked back to his car, wondering how this night could possibly be topped.

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_Like it? Hate it? Let me know what you think: review!_


	2. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

_Author's note: this chapter is a little darker—well, darker by my standards. Normally I'm not a dark person, so this is a stretch for me. I'm pathetic and enjoy fluff, so there's some of that in there too. And a little bit of sexiness for good measure. Anyway, I don't own any of these characters, blah blah blah… More chapters to follow. Enjoy!_

"Ow! Son of a—" Jim stammered. He had cut himself shaving. He didn't think he could be more nervous than he was on his first real date with Pam last night, but this surpassed any anxiety he had felt only 12 hours ago. He had to break up with Karen today. It was an obligatory nervousness; part of him felt compelled to get it over with and part of him wanted to run and hide. It was the feeling he normally got when he had to give an important presentation.. or had to rip off a stubborn band-aid.

The only thing that would make his day better was seeing Pam. After he got to see a more relaxed side of her—a side that didn't constantly need to look busy—he was even more intrigued with her than ever before. He was ready to get all his old issues straightened out and be free to see her more and more.

Things were still complicated though, because they both knew they couldn't tell anyone at work that they were dating. Everyone would make a huge fuss about it, especially Michael, and they would simply be looked at differently because they were in a relationship. They had discussed it briefly at dinner, and the agreement was to keep it quiet until they were confident things would work out.

Their dynamics with each other _were_ extremely different though. Jim had gone back to his more formal hairstyle, and she wondered if it made him feel more mature or something; she couldn't help but glance at him every few minutes and speculate, and she hoped no one had noticed her staring. Jim, in turn, noticed that she had not taken off the smile she wore last night, and he kept looking up at the reception desk just to catch a glimpse of it. She was even smiling when Michael was making a fool of himself and throwing a mini tantrum about Ryan leaving Scranton and moving to New York.

"I mean, Ryan.. was the sexy one in the office! We need to bring sexy back!" Michael cried out, and then laughed at his own Justin Timberlake reference.

"Michael, we still have you," Pam suggested, still smiling brightly. She knew she wouldn't have normally fed his ego like that, but after last night she felt like she had ego to spare. She looked at Jim with a face that hinted for him to chime in.

"Oh yeah!... Tst, please, everyone knows you're the sexiest one in the office. After all, Jan probably wouldn't get an.. enhancement for just anyone."

"Haha! Now that is the truth, brothah! Pound it." Michael was getting into having everyone pound his knuckles instead of giving him a high five. Jim just went along with it and then rolled his eyes in Pam's direction. They both had a laugh at Michael's expense, and Michael just chuckled as he walked back into his office, completely oblivious to their antics.

But there was one person who _had_ noticed their new mannerisms: Karen. She was mortified over not getting the job in New York, because she had been planning the next steps in her life around that promotion. And now to see her so-called boyfriend flirting with the girl she'd always been jealous of was the fiery icing on her cake from hell. She knew nothing was going to change the way he felt about Pam, and so she had been on the phone with corporate all morning about a possible transfer. Luckily they had a spot for her as manager of their Utica branch, so knowing she'd be leaving as soon as possible made it all the more easy to blow up at Jim when he inevitably pulled her aside to talk to her.

"So, um, Karen.." Jim began to say in the kitchen—practically the only place that was private enough at the time. "Even though I didn't get the job, just getting the offer made me do a lot of thinking about priorities—"

"Oh Jim," Karen interrupted, knowing exactly what was in store for her. "Don't give me that. Please leave me with some dignity, okay? If you want to break up with me, then just say it." She looked extremely annoyed, which made him uneasy.

"Just—say it."

"… I want to break up with you."

"I cannot believe you!" She shouted at him. "You are a selfish, arrogant, ass of a man. Why did you even drag it out this long, huh? You—Ugh!" She stopped herself, knowing that calling him names wouldn't hurt him enough for her liking. So she instead, decided to play with his head a bit.

"Listen," Karen sighed and clenched her jaw, "Even though I am sick of only the _thought_ of you, I will tell you this: just because we are broken up does _not_ mean I am going anywhere. I have worked _very_ hard for my career, and if I have to deal with you every day for the rest of it, I will! So.. wrap your head around that, Halpert." By this point, everyone in the office was staring at them, and it made Jim extremely uncomfortable. His discomfort made Karen feel vindicated, and so she was satisfied to leave him thinking she would always be there, haunting his and Pam's alleged relationship.

She turned and walked out of the kitchen with an angry, yet confident look on her face, and all Jim could do was stand there and look stunned. The first one to brave their way into the kitchen after the ordeal was Andy, and while he didn't make Jim feel any better about what had just happened, his comments allowed him to snap back to reality and get back to his work.

"You know Tuna, Karen, is like a shark.. and shark and tuna do not mix well. If I were you, I'd try swimming upstream to get with another tuna."

"Uh.. thanks, Andy…" Jim replied, as the image of Pam as a tuna popped into his head. "So, what are you?" he asked to try and lighten the mood.

"Oh, I'm a dolphin of course," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I should've guessed," Jim replied, staring out at the room of curious people staring back at him. He sighed and made his way slowly back to his desk, making sure to avoid Karen. He was so embarrassed; he didn't look up from his work for the rest of the day.

Although no one had realized it, Karen's outburst had upset Pam quite a bit, so towards the end of the day, she slipped away from the situation and went the roof to think. She had never felt such a range of emotions before. She felt guilty for kissing Jim and breaking the "rules of feminism," as the Mean Girls would put it. She also felt angry with Karen for yelling at him and making him feel embarrassed, and she felt depressed because she hadn't really talked to Jim for most of the day. But she also felt relieved that things were finally over between him and her, and now they could enjoy their summer together, even if it was in secret.

She was lost in her thoughts, sitting on a lawn chair that she and Jim had left up there for rooftop dinners, when she was startled by the roof door swinging open. She sighed, relieved that it was only Jim, and then she jumped up, excited that he had come up here. She didn't question his purpose for coming, she was only glad to see him. She rushed to him, and he caught her in an embrace.

"Jim, I'm sorry she was so harsh—" she started to apologize, but he stopped her and led her lips into a gentle kiss. Her heart was immediately filled with warmth.

"It's not your fault," he told her after their kiss. "Plus.." he sighed, "I can take it."

"Oh really?" She questioned, smiling coyly at him. "It sure looked like you were handling it—"

"Hey, okay. Not cool." He wagged a finger at her, and she gave him another big hug, "Listen, we'll be fine… We.. just may want to keep all of this a secret for a bit longer than what we may like."

"Haha, that sounds alright to me!" she agreed. "I don't know how _any_ of them would react to this… _I_ don't even know how I'm reacting to this! Does this feel strange to you?"

Jim was taken aback by her question; he looked at her inquisitively. "Well, I would have to say.. not really. I mean, I've pretty much dreamed of this for, uh.. forever, so…"

"And this is how you pictured it?"

"Well, not the yelling part.. but this part is right. This.. having you in my arms part."

She smiled at his remarks, and buried her face in his chest, embarrassed that she had even asked. "Okay, you are _way_ too charming for words."

"Haven't I always been charming? I thought I was just a charming guy—" She was laughing so genuinely, and he loved how he could make her laugh. He smiled attentively at her, and she smirked back at him with a twinkle of seduction in her eyes. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up at the implication. He drew her in for another kiss, his mind practically about to burst with possibilities, but she resisted.

"Ah-ah, listen to me, _mister_," Pam said quickly, knowing she had to explain for pulling away from him. "I am a 'third date' kind of gal, so you save your heavy fantasies for another day."

"Wow…" He looked at her, stunned, yet very, very interested. "Okay then, _madam_… Whatever you say." She giggled sweetly again at his remarks, and he had to restrain himself from taking her in his arms and seducing her right there on the roof. Instead, he grabbed her hand and led her back downstairs, where they then parted ways to create the illusion that they were simply in different parts of the building. Jim only gave her a quick peck on the cheek, as per her request on the roof, and Pam thought to herself that all this sneaking around could be fun… and that she couldn't wait for date number three.

_Your vote counts, so let your voice be heard: review!_


	3. Legally Blonde

_Author's note: thanks so much to the reviewers for their kind words! You guys are really compelling me to keep cranking out chapters much faster than I anticipated; I'm definitely enjoying where this is going, and I hope all of you are too. This chapter is a lot of fluff, but that seems to be what the people want, so there's no arguments from me! Many more chapters to follow. Enjoy!_

Pam gave a sigh of satisfaction as she looked around her spotless apartment. She wasn't usually this diligent with her cleaning, but she wanted things to be perfect for when Jim came over. It was their second date, and only a few days after he broke up with Karen. To everyone's surprise, and to Jim's relief, Karen's desk had been completely empty just a day after their breakup. A rumor was going around that she transferred to Utica, and even got a promotion to branch manager there, so Pam felt a little less guilty about impacting her life the way she had.

_Everything happens for a reason,_ she reminded herself. Now nothing was standing in the way of their romantic bliss, and she blushed when she thought of him. At work, Jim had been able to pretend nothing was going on so effortlessly—he would casually come to her desk for a couple jellybeans, and then slip her a note that contained an affectionate compliment—and she wondered how she had ever lived with just his friendship. The last note he gave to her spoke about how sweet her hair smelled, so during her shower she made sure to put plenty of her Herbal Essences conditioner in her hair, so some of its scent was retained for him.

Tonight, Jim was coming over to her house for a relaxing evening of pizza and movies. She was making him watch Legally Blonde, which he wasn't thrilled about, but knew she enjoyed it so he obliged her request. She had just slipped on a white camisole and a pair of old, heather-grey sweatpants, when she heard the buzzer for the front door. He was waiting for her.

"Hey," she said through the intercom. "Got the soda?"

"Oh.. No I forgot, sorry," Jim replied in a mocking tone.

"Haha, very funny. Let me buzz you in."

"Ok." He opened the door and darted up the stairs, excited to see her and be with her for the evening, even if they did have to watch Legally Blonde. She poked her head out of her apartment door, and ran out into the hallway to hug him when she saw him coming up the stairs. He was in dark blue jeans, a pair of ratty old sneakers, and a t-shirt that said "Practice Safe Lunch: Use a Condiment." She couldn't help but laugh, even if it was a lame play on words. She also noticed he was carrying a six-pack of grape soda.

"You liar, you did bring soda," she scolded and playfully hit his arm.

"Yeah.." he smiled. "Let's go inside." Coming into Pam's apartment for the second time, Jim noticed a lot more about it. First, she had taken almost all of her paintings down, which made him wonder if his comment last time made her self-conscious about displaying so many of them. Now she only had a few hung in frames, along with photos of her with family and friends. There was even one of the Dunder-Mifflin gang, taken at Phyllis' wedding!

He enjoyed that she was so sentimental about items she thought were special in her life, and as he sat on her couch and observed the surroundings, he could see unique touches everywhere he looked. Even her couch seemed very distinct, with interesting curves of the arms and a soft, rosy fabric for the cushions, and he wondered if there was some kind of unusual story behind it. One thing was for sure: Pam had good taste.

Not only that, but everything was so _clean_! The carpets, the coffee table, and even the TV screen—all had been dusted and polished so they gave off a shine. He wondered if Pam had gone through all this trouble just for him, and it made him very self-aware to the fact that he was so important to her. It was just like dressing up for him on their first date; she understood that taking time to do things for him showed she cared.

"So where'd all your paintings go?" he asked with a tone of curiosity in his voice.

"Oh, I chose the ones to donate actually," she replied proudly. "I picked one of a vase of flowers, one of some birds on a sidewalk, and one I did of the two of us." 

"Really? So.. I'm immortalized in watercolor, am I?"

"Yep. It's a close up of this one from Phyllis' wedding." Pam pointed to the photo of everyone he had noticed earlier, and saw that he had stood behind her for that picture. _How clever of her to crop everyone else out,_ he thought. He smiled at the memory and looked up at her.

"Can I see it sometime?" he inquired.

"Sure! We'll visit the studio, and I can show you off to the other students in my class. _They_ won't make a big fuss if they know we're together!" They both laughed, and then she disappeared into the kitchen, from which she shouted, "K, so I already called Alfredo's Pizza Café, and they should be here in a little while…" She brought out paper plates and two cans of grape soda. "But we can start the movie if you just can't wait."

"Oh, bring on the movie," he prompted in a sarcastic tone, and she giggled at him and put in the DVD. Jim had to admit, the movie wasn't all bad. It had its absurd and redeeming parts, like when Elle was standing in line to buy a laptop in only her bunny costume. And he enjoyed that Pam liked it so much. Through most of the movie, she sat on the edge of the seat, totally engrossed. She would occasionally hit his arm and say, "oh, this is the best part," and would react so zealously when something funny or embarrassing happened. He could see why so many girls would pick this to be in their top five desert island movies.

By the end of the movie, Pam had her head in Jim's lap, and he was stroking her hair softly. She was tired from all the cleaning she had done earlier, and she could feel her eyes getting heavy. She wondered if Jim could just sleep sitting upright so she wouldn't have to get up and move to her own bed, but to her dismay, she knew he'd probably have to leave when the movie was over. She was just drifting off when she heard the music to the closing credits playing, so she opened her eyes and turned her head to look up at Jim.

"Hey sleepyhead, you missed the end of the movie," he commented to her. She sat up, somewhat disoriented, and then let her head fall onto Jim's shoulder. He was amused at how tired she was, so he carefully stood up from the couch and stretched a little, and then extended his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her up from the couch and into his arms so he could take her to her bed.

He laid her down onto her bed gently and tucked covers over her body, and then he crouched down to say goodnight to her. And although she felt extremely tired, she didn't want their date to end like this.

"Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you lay with me for a few minutes?.. Please?" Even though she was mumbling a little, he thought it was the sweetest request he had ever heard, and so he honored her offer and laid down next to her. She turned over to look at him and reached her hand out to hold his, and for several minutes they stayed like that, just admiring each other, thinking about the strange and wonderful luck they had to have found each other.

"Jim?"

"Yeah, Pam?"

"I think I must've been stupid all those years to have been with Roy…"

"No, don't say that.." Jim tried to find some comforting words, but all he could think of was the movie they had just watched. "I mean.. you're just like Elle.. cause she also had to first find herself in order to be with a guy she really loved… Except you were smarter, cause you broke it off with the loser guy in order to find yourself, and Elle didn't even realize she'd be better off without that, uh.."

"Warner," she filled in, sleepily.

"Right. You at least knew what you wanted."

"Yeah… I did, didn't I?" Pam smiled, glad that her point of view had been affirmed. Then she burst out laughing, because she realized what Jim had just compared her to. "I knew you'd like that movie!" she persisted.

"Yeah, it was actually alright," Jim admitted to her. She sighed and closed her eyes, happy that she had changed his opinion, and he decided this would be an opportune time to slip out. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and gave her a gentle squeeze, then silently slid out of her bedroom, her apartment, and her building, and began the drive back home.

The next morning, Pam awoke to find herself cuddling one of her pillows, and she wondered if her night had been a dream. She pulled herself out of bed to assess her apartment, and sure enough, there was an empty pizza box and two grape soda cans on the coffee table, as well as the DVD box for Legally Blonde on top of her TV. She grinned, remembering that Jim had tucked her into bed and said those kind and caring words to her, and then she sat down on her couch, feeling completely overwhelmed by emotion. And when she thought about what kind of emotion it was that she felt, she decided it had to be.. love. Love! She loved him. With this revelation, she was immediately energized, and felt like she could take on anything this day brought to her.

_Ooh-ooh-ooh, how do you like it, how do you like it: review!_


	4. Art Class

_Author's note: now, I normally don't like when people just make up characters, but I had to. You'll see why; hope you don't mind. I tried to make up for it with humor, and hopefully that attempt wasn't a complete failure. Just a reminder, I don't own these characters, although that would be awesome. Keep the reviews coming! Many more chapters to follow. Enjoy!_

It was Friday, and everyone in the office seemed to have a spring in their step. Jim was especially excited for the weekend, because tomorrow, he would get to sit in on one of Pam's art classes. He wasn't sure exactly what he would do while everyone else was painting—he could barely draw a stick figure—but he was anxious to see Pam in action. He also wanted to meet her friends from class, just because they knew nothing about her work life. They would have such a fresh perspective on her personality, and he wanted to get to know all the sides of the girl he was quickly falling for.

"So," he said to her as he snagged a few jellybeans from the jar at reception, "What time do you want me to meet you tomorrow?"

"Oh, um.. my class starts at eleven—"

"A.M.?" He asked skeptically.

"Yep. Think you can get your lazy bones out of bed by then?" Pam teased and smirked at him.

"Oh yeah, no problem… Although you may want to call me at like, ten to make sure I'm up."

"Haha, okay. And I gave you directions, so if you just wanna meet me there at.. quarter till, that'll be good."

"I can do that," he affirmed and gave a confident smile, which triggered a smile from her back at him.

"It'll be great—" she began to say.

"What's great?" Dwight interrupted as he started to pick through Pam's jellybean jar. Exchanging glances, both tried to think about what they could tell him to get him off their backs.

"Um, well we're just talking about Michael's Summer Celebration Barbeque.." Pam lied, looking innocently at Dwight. He raised an eyebrow at them.

"I did not get an invitation to this barbeque."

"Oh, you must have," Jim insisted. "Everyone in the office is invited…" He looked at Pam, urging her with the expression on his face to give the rest of the office a heads up about Dwight's probable inquisition later that day. She casually opened her email and began drafting up a clever letter.

"Yep, everyone is talking about it," she insisted. "It is going to be so much fun." She hit send.

"Haha! Yes!" they heard a shout coming from accounting. It was Kevin, and it sounded like he had just received Pam's witty notice. "Just… really excited about the barbeque," he quickly explained. Jim and Pam concealed their laughter.

"Okay, then where is my invitation?" Dwight asked plainly.

"It must've gotten lost in the mail," Jim clarified. "We can give you the details though. Michael wants everyone to show up at his condo, tomorrow night, at seven p.m."

"Seven p.m…. I can do that," Dwight replied. "I can even come early to help him set up."

"Great! Cause I know he'll need help setting up the barbeque.." Pam hinted to him, trying to smile innocuously.

"Luckily, as a volunteer sheriff, I am fully trained in fire safety. I may as well be the Lackawanna County fire marshal… Don't worry, I will make sure the barbeque is assembled safely." He walked off proudly, leaving Pam and Jim almost ready to explode with laughter.

"Okay, that was fun," she commented.

"No. What will be even more fun is when Dwight shows up at Michael's condo tomorrow wearing flame retardant clothing and holding a fire extinguisher." This sent them into a fit of suppressed laughter, and they only wished they could be there to actually witness it.

…

Jim arrived right on time to the studio where Pam had her art classes, just fifteen minutes until the start of her painting course. He was just getting out of his car when he heard the "honk! honk!" of Pam's blue Toyota Yaris pulling into the parking lot. He waved at her as she pulled into a space and turned off the engine. She was donned in a grubby, white t-shirt, sneakers, and overalls that had paint all over them. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she was carrying all her supplies in a plastic tote. He thought that even in the shabbiest of clothing, she still radiated beauty.

"You made it!" She exclaimed, half-surprised that he had actually gotten here before she had. She admired his ensemble: he was wearing a white button-down shirt with a lightweight, kelly-green sweater over it, a pair of brown corduroy pants, and some brown loafers. She was amused by the fact that he had gotten dressed up on a Saturday just for her.

"Yep. I am really excited about this."

"You should be, cause I've arranged something very special for you to do while I'm painting…"

Jim had a look of uncertainty in his eyes. "What is it?"

"You.. are going to be one of our subjects today!"

"Really?" His eyes became very wide, which reminded Pam of a deer in headlights, and she felt compelled to explain.

"See, this is why I asked you to come this week, because our instructor told us we'd get extra credit for bringing in subjects… I hope you don't mind."

"Well.. I feel a little used," he said sarcastically. "But.. I guess I'll live."

"Haha, good," she replied. "Let's go in." Inside, Jim was astounded by all the amazing art and sculptures that surrounded the lobby. He had no idea that all the students here were so talented. He thought maybe he was impressed easily, but he couldn't help but stop and study every piece of art they passed. She thought it was cute that he took such an interest.

"Come on, slowpoke, the painting wing is down this way."

"There's a whole wing for just painting?" Jim asked, astonished.

"Yeah! That's where all my stuff is hung." Pam led him down a corridor filled with framed paintings, and then out of her own excitement, she practically skipped to where her paintings were hung. She presented them to him in a Vana White fashion, and he applauded accordingly. He particularly lingered at her painting of the two of them, and could tell that she had taken a great deal of care in forming it. All her lines were very clean, and she had used several more colors for shading and highlighting in that particular one than her others.

"You have a very angular face," she noted when she saw him admiring her painting. "I mean.. I know that doesn't exactly sound like a compliment, but you should take it as one." He smiled at her, and she grinned right back at him.

"Alright.. I will." Jim replied. "Ready for class?"

"Yep!" She held up her plastic tote like it was a child's lunchbox, and they both laughed and went inside her classroom. Pam immediately made a beeline to a group of girls, and they said their hellos to her in a very high pitched, drawn-out voice: "Hiiii Pam!!" How aaare you!" While he tried not to be judgmental, Jim knew he was in for a long day; they were planning to have lunch with those girls after class.

"Pam! Is this your boyfriend?" A short, olive-skinned girl with dark, curly hair asked.

"Um, yeah.. He is," she replied, blushing that she could finally call him that. "This is Jim. Jim, this is Jaclyn, Shannon, and Caitlyn." He thought how big of a challenge this would be to keep all their names straight. Jaclyn was the short, curly-haired girl, Shannon was the wavy-haired girl at medium height, and Caitlyn was by far the tallest and had long, straight hair. They're locks were all dark brown though, which was not going to help distinguish them. He hoped he'd be able to manage.

"Is he going to be one of our subjects today?" Caitlyn asked in a scandalous tone.

"Yeah…!" And with that answer, the three of them let out a squeal, and laughter followed. Jim wondered how Pam fit in with these girls, because all of them had very… Kelly-like qualities. But he supposed they all had art in common, and she looked like she was having fun with them, so that was justification enough for him. He did have to wonder if he'd ever fully understand women though.

"Okay everyone," an elderly woman at the head of the class, who Jim figured was the instructor, commanded, "Let's take our seats, we have a lot to get done today and not a lot of time. We have our three subjects, including a human, so let's bring them up. Pam? I know you volunteered to bring our live subject—"

"Yep, here he is!" she said, shoving Jim toward the front of the class. He could hear the giggles of her three friends from behind him. "Madam, this is Jim."

"Pleasure to meet you, sir." The instructor extended her hand to him, and he shook it absent-mindedly. "Your face is extraordinary—very angular; it is perfect for artist interpretation."

"Yeah…" Jim nodded, remembering he had heard that compliment just five minutes before, "Just glad I can help." He looked back at Pam, who had an evil smile on her face, and he shot her a look back like he was going to get her for this later.

"Here are the other subjects," the instructor told him. Two of Pam's classmates handed him a watering can and an old-fashioned, analog clock. "Choose a pose that you can hold for the next hour." She had Jim get up on a riser in the middle of the room, and had everyone turn their easels toward him. He asked for a chair, and the instructor obliged, so he sat with the clock in his lap, his forearms resting on the arms of the chair, and the watering can hanging from his left hand.

"Begin!" the instructor declared, and everyone picked up their pencils and began to trace. Jim had to admit that it felt a little strange having all those eyes on him, but he had made sure to position himself sitting in Pam's direction, so all he really had to do was admire her for the next hour. Every time she looked up at him, he would wink or stick his tongue out at her, and it kept her thoroughly entertained.

Pam found it very fun to have Jim as her subject. She had done multiple sketches of him before from photographs, so she knew how to draw the curves of his cheekbones, the arches of his eyebrows, and even the wisps of his hair floating away from his head without even having to think about it. But having him right there in front of her was a completely different experience. She could study the way he moved when he winked or stuck his tongue out at her, and she could feel his muscles start to tense after only twenty minutes of sitting still. Perhaps it was how when she would look up he would always be there looking back at her, but she felt very connected to him. She couldn't help but wonder if this was what Leonardo DiCaprio was feeling when he was drawing Kate Winslet in Titanic. Somehow, it seemed more romantic in the movie.

The hour seemed to pass much quicker than he imagined it would've. By the time the instructor ordered "utensils down," Pam had only just started to apply her watercolors. The instructor thanked Jim for his patience, and he was allowed to get down. He returned the other two "subjects" to their rightful owners, and then went over to Pam's easel.

"I'm not finished," he pointed to her paper, which had only started to be filled in with color.

"Oh, well she gives us the next class period to do the actual painting. In fact, I finished early, which is why I started to paint."

"I see," he nodded.

"Jim, you were such a good subject; I can't believe you barely moved the whole hour!" Shannon complimented.

"Uh, yeah... I get a lot of practice sitting at my desk at work doing nothing," he joked. He glanced over at Pam, who had stopped putting her supplies away to laugh at his remark.

"Ready for lunch girls?" she addressed her three friends, and they all replied in agreement, so the five of them walked back down the hallway into the lobby, and out the door to the parking lot, chatting all the way.

"Where are we going?" Jaclyn asked. Pam looked at Jim pondering where they could go.

"How does Cugino's sound?"

"Perfect," Pam replied. "Carpool?"

"Yeah!" Caitlyn said enthusiastically, and so everyone piled into Shannon's black Ford Hybrid Escape, and when she knew nobody was watching, Pam snuck a kiss on the cheek from Jim. _Lunch is going to be very interesting,_ he thought to himself.

_Review! It's the cool thing to do._


	5. Lunch at Cugino's

_Author's note: hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint, guys; it took me a while to write it cause 1. it was the holiday weekend and I was busy, and 2. I wanted to make sure dialogue and stuff was just right. Please review and let me know what you think. Many more chapters to follow. Enjoy!_

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"Table for.. five, please," Jim told the hostess at Cugino's, and he, Pam, and her three friends from art class were taken to a booth near the back of the restaurant. Cugino's was a quaint diner, filled with décor that reminded Pam of her grandmother's living room. But the food tasted excellent, which was why it was such a Scranton hotspot. They slid into the booth, and on one side sat Jim, Pam, and Shannon, while Jaclyn and Caitlyn sat on the other side. 

After they had ordered, Shannon began. "So," she said, looking at the couple, "Tell us how you two started dating!"

"Yeah!" Caitlyn chimed in. "Pam, I know you've talked about Jim being your best friend for like, ever, but how did you guys make that leap?"

"Um.." Pam stammered, rethinking the past few years of their friendship. She looked at Jim with an uncertain expression on her face. He decided to field this question for her.

"Do you guys want the short version, or the long version?" Jim inquired of them. The three of them exchanged glances and smirked, and then Jaclyn and Caitlyn said in unison, "the long version!" Everyone had a good laugh.

"Why would we want the short version?" Shannon asked rhetorically through her laughter.

"So wait, wait.. let's fill in what we know already," Caitlyn suggested. "You guys work together and became good friends because of that. And Pam, was engaged—"

"To Roy!" Shannon interrupted. "Blech!" Pam laughed at Shannon's antics and gave her a nudge with her elbow.

"But!" Caitlyn continued, "She dumped his ass and then was single for a while… but then she went out with him _again_—"

"Out of desperation," Jaclyn tried to say under her breath. Everyone at the table had heard though, and Pam put her head in her hands from embarrassment while the other girls tried to conceal their laughter. "She knows I'm joking!" Jaclyn insisted. Jim just rolled his eyes and gave Pam a comforting pat on the back.

"AND," Caitlyn said loudly, annoyed with the peanut gallery's comments, "Then she thankfully dumped him a _second_ time and started dating you, Jim!" She smiled proudly for accurately recapping the last few years of Pam's life, and then decided to double-check. "Is that mostly right?"

Pam shrugged. "Most of it is—" But then Jim decided to jump in.

"It was a little more complicated than all that, guys. You make it sound so.. mechanical."

"Okay then, let's heard your side of the story," challenged Shannon.

"Ok, well.." he looked at Pam for signs of approval to share with her friends. She seemed apprehensive, but she sighed and gave a look like they were going to find it all out anyway, so he continued. "Well, yeah. We were really good friends when she was engaged, and I.. had a crush on her. So I told her about it.. but, she rejected me."

"Awww!!!" the ladies exclaimed. Their lunch arrived, and they all began eating.

"Yeah.. so I couldn't handle her rejection, so I transferred to another branch to get away. And.. that was right around the time she called off her wedding."

"Because—" Pam chimed in. "Because even though I wasn't sure if I felt that way about Jim, I knew I didn't feel that way about Roy anymore… I don't—I don't know if that makes sense." Shannon could feel her friend getting upset, so she wrapped her arms around her and gave her a big bear hug.

"Aw, sweetie!" she comforted her. "Look what you ended up with though!" Pam smiled at Jim and he made a face back at her, which made her and the girls laugh.

"So Pam, while you were single, he was gone," Jaclyn clarified.

"Right. But then the branch he was at and our branch merged, so he came back."

"And you still liked her?" Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well… See, I tried to get over her by dating someone else, at this other branch… so this woman also came to Scranton for the merger. And I dated her, uh, unhappily, I might add.. right up until I asked Pam out again."

"And, a little after that!" Pam added, and scandalous ooo's and laughter could be heard throughout the restaurant.

"That's why you dated Roy for a little bit again!" Jaclyn realized. "Because you wanted Jim, and couldn't have him—"

"I guess…" Pam admitted to them. "But that was just a bad solution."

"Seriously, what were you thinking!" Shannon exclaimed.

"So what was different?" asked Caitlyn, "That made you want to ask her out again?"

"Well, uh, I think that she was just a different person… her own person. I mean, she was always her own person, but being attached to Roy, she couldn't_always_ be..." He looked at Pam, who was half-smiling, curious with what he had to say next. "But after I came back, I noticed she would speak her mind to me and to other people around the office, and it was like a signal that she was finally.. thinking of her own happiness… so I just went for it and hoped she thought _I_ could make her happy."

Pam had never realized how well Jim knew her; to be able to sense when she was ready to be in a relationship again, meant that he could accurately interpret every move she made and adapt to what she wanted. She had never experienced such responsiveness before, and it scared her a little to be so vulnerable towards him. She glanced at Jim, who had just taken a bite of his ham and cheese sandwich, and she couldn't help but smile. She knew deep down that Jim would never try to use this ability of his against her; he would only support her, and recognizing this helped her faith in their relationship grow a little bit more.

"And she said yes to you! Obviously." Shannon squealed, completely enthralled with the cuteness of their story.

"You know, when Pam started taking art classes, she _was_ really shy like that," Jaclyn noted, dipping a french-fry in ketchup. "I mean, maybe it's just cause I'm so loud, but I noticed you were really reserved—"

"Yeah, I noticed that too—" agreed Shannon. "Like the instructors would say something to you, and you would barely respond and just quietly change what they had commented on. But! As the semesters went on, you were able to like, filter their suggestions and do what _you_ really wanted to do, and your art got better and better. At least in my opinion."

"Thanks, Shannon.. That's really nice." Pam smiled.

"You're still really shy sometimes!" Caitlyn remarked. "But, I think that's just cause Madame is so intimidating!"

"She _is_ intimidating," Jim murmured, and all of them burst into a fit of laughter. "I like it when you speak your mind, especially to Dwight or Michael," he told her, and the other girls showed inquiring expressions on their faces.

Jaclyn snapped her fingers. "Michael! Is that the one that came to the art show a couple months ago? The one with the.. snobby gay lover?" Pam shuddered as she remembered how Michael had tried to kiss Oscar, and didn't want to ever imagine him with a gay lover.

"No no, that's Oscar. But Michael did come to the show… He's the one that bought one of my paintings."

"Oh yeah!" laughed Caitlyn. "Didn't he pay you like $50 for it?" Pam admitted to charging him that much, and Jim roared with laughter, stunned that she had pulled a stunt like that on Michael.

Their conversation went on like that throughout lunch, and Jim was truly surprised with how down to Earth these girls were. They talked a little much for his liking, but he noticed how much support they gave to Pam, and he was grateful to them for that. And he was glad he got to share with them about how they became a couple, because talking about what had happened to him and her over the past few years made it easier to see where they had been and where he wanted them to go.

After the meal, Shannon drove everyone back to the art studio parking lot, and they said their goodbyes. Pam was really relieved that everyone had gotten along so well. She hadn't been too worried because Jim got along with practically everyone, but she couldn't help but notice how much they all had praised her; it wasn't only an affirmation that Jim loved her, but she had friends that loved her as well.

As they were leaving, Jaclyn pulled Jim aside. "Jim, I gotta tell ya," she began, "In the short months that I've known Pam, I have seen her personality do a complete 180—like in a really good way. And seeing her with you today, made me realize that.. who she is, is because of you! And so.. I guess what I'm saying is, if you break her heart, we will hunt you down."

Jim laughed with a slight twinge of nervousness in his voice, knowing that even though Jaclyn was small, she could do some serious damage if she wanted to. "Haha, you don't have anything to worry about." He looked at Pam admiringly, "I'm glad she's finally so happy. You know, genuinely happy."

"Yeah," Jaclyn sighed. "Well, anyway, it was great to finally meet you!"

"Yeah, you too." They hugged goodbye, and after saying goodbye to the other two girls, Jim and Pam started walking to their cars.

"Hey, I have a surprise for you," Jim told her. Her eyes lit up.

"What is it?"

"You have to come with me." They got into Jim's car and began driving. Pam kept her eye on Jim, but he had to warn her, "I'm not going to tell you what it is until we get there." They finally arrived to a neighborhood of condos, and parked arbitrarily on the side of the road.

"What are we doing?" Pam asked anxiously.

"Ok, now we can't be seen, but—oh crap, here he comes! Get down!" Just then, they saw Dwight's 1987 Pontiac Trans Am driving up the street. They ducked their heads as he drove past and parked just a few condos down from them. Surely enough, Dwight was donned in firefighter gear—where he had got it, Jim and Pam had no idea—and in his hands he carried a fire extinguisher and axe.

"Oh my god—" Pam gasped, as Dwight stormed up to Michael's condo. He knocked on the door with the blunt side of the axe, and Michael, to everyone's surprise, answered wearing only white socks and a pair of tight, white briefs. Jim and Pam exchanged a glance of shock and stifled their laughter as Dwight and Michael just stood there. Finally, after several moments of extreme awkwardness, Dwight forced himself in the door, and Jim and Pam were able to sit up and drive off, laughing hysterically.

They arrived back at the art studio, and for a while, they just sat in Jim's Saab 92X listening to a mix Jim had made. One song that particularly caught Pam's attention was a jazzy, upbeat track with a bit of an edge to it, and she turned it up to hear better.

"I like this," she stated.

"It's called 'Summer Romance.. by Incubus."

"Summer Romance, eh?" She raised an eyebrow at him, and he couldn't help but smile. "What an appropriate song, Jim." He laughed at her, and then they leaned in for a kiss. They felt the heat of each other's lips, and it urged them both to open their mouths a little more, and a few seconds turned into a few minutes. Jim could not stop his hands as they grasped Pam's waist, and she in turn wrapped her arms around his neck. For a split second, Pam opened her eyes and saw Jim's shut eyes fully engrossed in their kiss, and she felt warmth bubble up in her chest. She could not believe how happy he made her, and she wanted this feeling of warmth and completeness to last forever.

As their lips finally parted, she could see Jim blushing. She smiled at him demurely and fixed her hair.

"Hey, so… I was thinking…" Jim began to say.

"Yeah?"

"How would you.. like to be a part of the Halpert family Fourth of July?"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay!" she replied excitedly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! I have wanted to meet your family for.. forever!"

"Alright! They'll be so excited you're coming."

"I'm really excited! This is gonna be so great." She looked at her watch. "Oh shoot, I have to go, but I am _so_ excited. We'll talk later about it, right?"

"Definitely."

"Okay… Yay! Did I mention, I'm excited? Cause I am. Haha, ok, bye Jim!" She kissed him sweetly and left his in his car. He smiled at her and watched her walk away. He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out the parking lot, eager for Pam to meet his entire family.

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_Review, review, review!_


	6. Fantastic Realities

_Author's note: okay, so I had to change the rating just for this chapter. But if you are a fan of the smut like I am, you will LOVE this. Updates will be a little slower in the next few weeks (I have to deal with finals and all that shit), but I have so many ideas I still want to put in, so there will be many more chapters to follow. Please review and let me know what you think. Enjoy!_

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It seemed like Pam had been smiling for a week and a half straight. She had to bite her lip from appearing too happy to be at work, and every time she answered the phone, her tone was noticeably cheery. The calendar sitting on her desk had several red x's on it, indicating the count down until her and Jim's Fourth of July weekend with his family. She glanced at it, and there was only a couple more x's to go. She looked up at Jim and a large, toothy grin crept upon her face. He winked at her, and she blushed and turned back to her computer. 

That night, Pam was coming over for dinner, and Jim had to make sure everything was just perfect for their third date. He was even making meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes for her; he was worried it may not be her style, but it was about the only thing he knew how to cook consistently well, so he hoped for the best. He would also prep her on meeting his family, something he felt compelled to do for her so she could be forewarned. There wasn't anything particularly strange about his family; he just hadn't brought home a girlfriend to meet them in years, so his family would be _very_ curious about her.

But even though he was worried about their dinner together, his mind was most preoccupied with what she had said to him on the roof a few weeks ago.

"_I am a 'third date' kind of gal..."_

He couldn't help it. It was going to be their third date tonight. He glanced at her and wondered, was she joking when she said that? He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he ran through the possibilities; he knew this was not something to think about at work. Luckily the thing to break his train of thought came just in time.

"Jimmy!" Michael hit Jim lightly on the shoulder.

"Uh.. Jimmy?" he asked Michael.

"Yeah, I've always wanted a friend named Jimmy… a friend or a dog named Jimmy…"

"Oh, well, I don't really like—"

"Come, Jimmy! Into my office, please. Come, Jimmy! Come, come!" Jim sighed and trudged into Michael's office, thoughts of Pam still lingering in the back of his mind.

…

As she pulled into the parking lot of Jim's apartment complex, Pam gave a heavy sigh, trying to shake her nervousness away. Even though they were staying in, she decided she should dress up; tonight, she wore a flowy burgundy skirt with a crème-colored top, and her hair was down, just as he said he liked it. As she walked to the front door, she wondered what exactly he had planned for her.

"Hey, it's me," she said over the intercom.

"I'm sorry, 'me'? I.. don't know any 'me'.."

"Very funny. Let me in!"

"Alright, alright, hold your horses, Bees." He hit the buzzer and the door opened for her. Jim's apartment was right inside the front door, so he met her in the hallway and gave her a big hug. She was surprised that he had dressed up too: he wore a dark gray suit, white button-down, a black tie and black shoes. She practically melted when she caught sight of him, and then smelled something heavenly wafting out from inside his apartment.

"Wow, it smells amazing in there," she complimented.

"Oh yeah, come on in. I made my specialty…"

"Sandwiches?"

"Nope…" Jim's apartment looked a little more like a college dorm room than a grown-man's apartment; it had everything from an oversized couch and big-screen TV to action figures scattered on his bookshelf. It did have a certain charm and hominess to it though, just like Jim. What was out of character was a perfectly set dining room table, complete with candles and wine.

"Oh wow, this looks so nice."

"Yeah, oh! Please, allow me," he pulled out her chair for her, and she giggled a little as she sat down. Then he went into the kitchen and brought out two plates with a large, steaming helping of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. "For you," he set the plate down in front of her.

"Why thank you," she took in a deep breath through her nose and let out a sigh. "This smells _so_ good."

"Well I hope it tastes half as good as it smells," he replied. "I was worried you wouldn't like this kind of thing."

"Really? Oh Jim, I'm a simple Midwestern girl; this is comfort food for me."

He laughed that he ever doubted her tastes. "Well, good. Then enjoy, and.. be _comfortable_." She smiled at him and took a bite.

"Oh my gosh, this is wonderful," she clutched her chest with one hand, stunned by all the flavor that hit her mouth. "I am very impressed."

"I'm glad," he replied, and the two of them began to eat. Their dinner first started out with small talk: how Michael calls him "Jimmy" now, how Dwight overreacted when he took out the "D" key on his keyboard, and how annoying it was when Andy would sing a little song every time he made a sale. Finally, Jim steered the conversation towards their Fourth of July together.

"So, about this weekend.."

"Yes! I have been counting down the days."

He smiled at her eagerness. "Yeah, well, I think I should give you a run-down on my family before you actually meet them… Not because they're quirky or anything. They're actually about the most normal family you could ever meet—"

"Okay.." Pam said with hesitation, sensing he wanted to tell her more.

"It's just—" He hated to admit it, but he had to tell her the truth. "Ok, I haven't brought a girl home to meet them in _years_. Not since college, and even then, I was weary to have them meet a girlfriend. I was always really worried it wouldn't work out, and then what would I tell my family, you know?" Pam nodded her head in agreement. "But they know _you're_ coming, so they know it's a big deal and, you're the real thing."

"I am?" Pam hadn't realized before that meeting Jim's family was a huge symbol of his commitment. She smiled at him and blushed, happy to know now how much she meant to him.

"Yeah, of course. So, you wanna move to the couch? I have pictures of all of them so you can have faces as well as names."

"Alright." They cleared their empty dishes and sat down on the couch with their wine. Jim had his laptop sitting on the coffee table, and he opened his photo viewer program to bring up pictures of his family. The first one he showed her was a middle-aged couple that looked very much in love.

"So these are my parents," he began. "The guy there is my dad, Ben. He.. was an electrician for thirty years, and is recently retired. He's a great guy, awesome sense of humor. And the woman obviously is my mom, Maggie.. and she is a nurse at Community General in Lower Paxton, my hometown. She's the real typical mom that wants to make sure everyone is happy and stuff…"

Pam could see where Jim got his looks from; his father was probably just as tall as he was, and he had the same smile. His hair was a little greyer and thinner, but she could've recognized that smile anywhere. His mother was very pretty, and she saw a sparkle of green in her eyes, just like she saw in Jim's. She also liked that they had been together for so long, because it showed Jim an example of true commitment.

"And this," he continued, clicking on a picture of a man about his age dribbling a basketball, "is my older brother, Brandon. He is five years older than me and he lives in Drexel Hill with his wife," he clicked on a picture of a blonde-haired woman holding a toddler, "Rachel, and their two-year old, Thomas. Now Brandon, is a clinical psychologist, and Rachel is an Op-Ed writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer.. and right now is actually about.. thirteen months pregnant," he said sarcastically. "..so that should be fun this weekend. They're expecting a little girl."

"Aww," Pam cooed. It was fun to see his family members and hear him talk about them; he had such a caring tone in his voice when he spoke, and she wondered if he used that same tone when he talked to them about her.

"And this," he said as he clicked on a picture of an athletic-looking teenage girl, "is my little sister, Lisa. This is actually a picture of her from high school, but she's twenty now, and is an English major at the University of Pennsylvania. She's really smart; you will love her."

Pam already felt like she did love her. She basically looked like a female version of Jim, especially with her athletic build. She was very tall, just like all the rest of her family, and even had brown wavy hair like Jim's. As she admired the photo, Jim felt the need to add, "If you're wondering about the big difference in age, Brandon and I have a theory that she was an 'oops baby.'"

"What!" Pam exclaimed and playfully hit him. But then he tickled her on the sides of her waist, which sent her into a fit of laughter. She tried tickling him back, but that made him want to tickle her more, and she flailed her arms and legs around as he did. Finally, he had pinned her on the couch, and was tickling her all over; she was laughing so hard that she could barely breathe, and so he backed off and pushed her hair off her face. They stared at each other for a second, and then leaned in for a kiss. It was soft and passionate, and it sent both of them down the same path of thought.

As they're lips parted, Jim saw the same look of seduction in Pam's eyes as he had seen on the roof, and he wanted to see what was behind it. He stood up and held out his hand; she took it and he helped her into his arms, where he kissed her passionately. She returned his kiss, and so he decided to take a chance and lead her into his bedroom. He looked for signs of approval in her face, and luckily that's all he saw.

He laid her down on the bed and they began to kiss passionately; they wrapped their arms around each other and drew their bodies closer to each other, their legs becoming entwined. Jim was surprised that Pam was practically clawing at his back, and was so eager to get his jacket and tie off. He didn't complain though, and lifted her shirt off over her head as she undid his shirt buttons.

From there they moved south, and as she quickly unbuckled his belt, he was practically tearing at the zipper on the side of her skirt. Finally, there she lay, in only a lacy nude-colored bra and underwear, and Jim felt like he could explode right there. He instead gave a heavy sigh and began to sensually kiss her all over, and she moaned in his ear with delight. Their hands moved up and down each other, caressing each other sensually with each other's touch. Finally, Pam pushed him away, and all he could think was that he had moved too fast.

He hadn't though; because what she did next proved she wanted him as much as he wanted her. She got up off the bed and stood in the middle of his room with her back to him. Slowly, and ever so seductively, she began to unhook her bra. She gracefully peeled the straps from her shoulders, and dropped it on the floor. Then, she did the same sensual dance with her underwear, and before he knew it, she was naked right in front of him. She looked over her shoulder to give him an evil smile, and then motioned with her finger to come to her. Naturally, he obeyed.

Jim ran to her and snatched her up in his arms, kissing her and feeling her soft, warm body all over. She was moaning with delight and grabbed hold of his boxers to slip them off, and once they had been discarded, he threw her onto the bed in a fairly rough fashion. She laughed as he did it though, and this just seemed to make him more turned on; every time she laughed, he was turned on. He climbed on top of her, blood pulsating through him like he was about to burst, and then she said what he had been fantasizing about for all the years he'd known her:

"Give it to me—"

That was all she had to say before he thrust inside of her, and for a couple seconds afterward, they just started at each other, in shock that this was finally happening and how good it felt to be connected to each other. They broke their staring when he began to thrust, and she moaned with delight as he did. It drove him wild to just hear her moaning his name, much less suck on his ear or kiss his chest, and he pushed deeper and deeper inside of her with every push, hoping to satisfy.

Not before long, her hips began to buck, and he could sense she was no longer able to control her body. He watched as she bit her lip and shut her eyes tight, all the while crying out his name. It was torture, because he knew he couldn't experience what she was experiencing yet, but it was beautiful to know he had given her that satisfaction. Finally, she regained control of herself, and she looked at him with the widest eyes he had ever seen. She was blown away by how good he could feel and how fulfilled he could make her, and she wanted more. But before he began again, he pulled out of her.

"What—what are you doing?" she sat up and asked, extremely concerned she had done something wrong uncontrollably.

"I just, have to—" he held up a flat, red package with the word "Trojan" written on it. She fell back onto the bed, embarrassed she had been so concerned, and even laughed at herself a bit.

"Well, don't just stand there, come here.." she told him.

"But I don't have it on—" His protests were silenced by her beckoning, and so he went to her, foil package in hand. She tore it open and took out the rubber disc, then slowly administered it to his body, making sure to grasp him as she rolled it down his shaft. It sent chills down his spine. They exchanged seductive glances and then he pushed her back down onto the bed, and she knew she was about to be ravished.

He began to thrust and built speed as he went, her encouraging him the whole way through moans and kisses. Finally, he could sense she was losing control again, and so he let himself go as well. They burst simultaneously, and then lay panting in each other's arms, dumbfounded with what had just happened.

At last, Pam spoke up, "So… is that how you always imagined it?"

"My imagination… didn't know, some of those things were even possible." He smiled at her and she buried her head in his chest, both completely and truly happy in that moment.

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_Steamy enough for you? Review!_


	7. Catchphrase

_Author's note: I love this chapter. It's so fuzzy. That's the only word I can think to describe it. Obviously there will be more chapters to follow. Please review and let me know what you think. Enjoy!_

"Hi, Mom.." Jim answered his cell phone as he and Pam pulled off I-81 toward his parents' house. "Yeah, we just got off the exit… Should be like, 10 more minutes… What? No way. My brother and his family beat us," he told Pam, and then said back into the phone, "Well, we'll try to hurry.. yeah. Okay, Mom.. See you soon.. Bye."

"They beat us?" she asked him.

"Yeah, apparently they got there like a half hour ago.. but don't worry, they can't start dinner without us." He smiled at her reassuringly. He could tell she was especially nervous, and so he then reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. "You don't have anything to worry about; they will love you."

"I hope so," she gave him a look not to worry about her being worried, and so he put his hand back on the steering wheel and they pulled into a subdivision. Faith and confidence in their relationship had been growing exponentially for both of them over the past few weeks, especially after their first time making love. Pam especially had noticed quite a difference in the way she simply felt about the act: with Roy, sex always seemed like an obligation, and just because they were dating or engaged meant she had to please him. But with Jim, she wanted to please him, and felt comfortable laughing during it. She felt unleashed, like she had a new outlook on what sex and relationships could be about, and she smiled to herself as she thought about it.

They pulled in to the driveway of a two-story farmhouse-style home, and Jim smiled and told her, "This is it." This had been the house he grew up in: he learned to ride a bike on this street, he played basketball too many times to count in the driveway, and he had laid out in the backyard and stared up at the clouds practically every summer. Now, he got to share all of that with the woman he was in love with, and he felt anxious to show her everything.

They were just unpacking their bags when they saw a middle-aged woman wide, green eyes dashing down the porch steps toward them. Jim smiled a big smile and hugged her. "Hey, Mom."

"Hi there, stranger!" she replied in a cheery voice. "Hey, Happy Fourth!"

"Yeah, you too.. glad we could make it."

"Oh yeah, '_we'_! You're a 'we' this year! This is her, yeah?" she motioned to Pam.

"Yeah, uh, Mom this is Pam. Pam, my mom.."

"Thank you so much for inviting me, Mrs. Halpert." Pam said in a grateful tone.

"Oh, of course, honey!" she replied. " We are so glad you could come! And please feel free to just call me Maggie. That's what Rachel, Jim's sister-in-law, calls me."

"Oh, okay." Pam smiled, enchanted with how endearing Jim's mom was; she felt like she'd get along with her just fine.

"There he is!" An older man standing in the doorway shouted with a big grin on his face.

"Hey, Dad!" Jim shouted back to him. The man rushed down the steps and gave him a big hug. "Dad, this is Pam."

"Wow! Well Jim said you were pretty, but apparently he was being very modest." 

"Thank you," she replied and blushed. Jim's dad, Ben, was almost as tall as Jim, and seeing their identical smiles side-by-side made her knees weak.

"So Pam, would you like to see a trick?" Ben asked.

"Sure.. what is it?"

"I can make myself blow up."

"What?"

"I'll show you." And with that, Ben scrunched up his face and clenched his fists, and Pam looked on with a confused expression. She saw Jim roll his eyes, but she didn't understand until Ben looked up to the sky and blew all the air out of his lungs. "I told you," he laughed. "Oldest one in the book!" Pam wondered why Michael had never thought of anything like that, but she decided never to say a word to him. She laughed playfully at Ben's joke.

"Alright, Ben, let's go in," Maggie prompted, and so the four of them went inside, where they were greeted by a hyper two-year old.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" he said as he jumped around the hallway and clapped his hands.

Maggie spoke up, "Thomas, look who's here!" And with that, he went running into Jim's legs, hollering his name.

"Hey Tank Engine!" he said as he picked Thomas up.

"Toot! Toot!" he replied as Jim playfully spun him around. 

"Hey, look who this is," Jim pointed at Pam.

"Who?"

"This is my friend, Pam."

"Pam! Pam! Pam!" he shouted and struggled to get down, and when he was, he began to race around the living room. By this time, the blonde-haired woman that Pam recognized as Brandon's wife, Rachel, had come into the room to quiet Thomas down. Jim had obviously been joking with her, because she only looked about six or seven months pregnant, but her belly was sticking out quite a bit. She had settled Thomas down when she noticed the two of them in the hallway.

"Hi! Oh, you must be Pam. It is _so_ nice to meet you!" Rachel said in a cheerful tone. "You've already met Thomas I see… where's your brother, Jim?" she asked. Jim shrugged and Rachel called out, "Brandon! You're brother's here!"

"Hey Jim!" They heard a shout coming from the kitchen.

"So Pam, this must be exciting to meet everyone. Don't worry about a thing though, this family could not be nicer.. Right, Thomas?" She turned to her son, and he began shouting Pam's name and clapping his hands. Rachel laughed, "He loves those one-syllable words! Shh shh, Thomas.."

Pam smiled at them as Rachel took Thomas to play with his toys, but as soon as she turned back around, there was another member of Jim's family to greet. This time, it was a tall girl with wide eyes and a big smile.

"Oh my gosh, you're Pam! I'm Lisa. I am so happy to finally meet you!!" the girl threw her arms around her and gave her a big hug. "Jim talks about you all the time, like, literally. All the time. And now, you're here!" Pam laughed nervously at Lisa; she was much more outgoing than she expected, but she seemed genuinely friendly and curious so she decided she would be equally as friendly and curious back to her.

Jim decided to chime in, "Hey, don't I get a hug?"

"Haha, what do you think?" And so he gave Lisa a big bear hug, and then a noogie for good measure. "Hey!" she teased, "I'm gonna tell Mom!"

"What's going on in there?" Maggie shouted from the kitchen.

Jim replied, "Nothing," in the most innocent tone of voice he could think of. Pam laughed at his antics, and found it absolutely adorable that he could joke with his sister like that. He smiled at her and took her into the kitchen, where Maggie was pulling out three different kinds of homemade pizzas from the oven, and another man, who Pam guessed was Brandon, was rummaging through cabinets.

"Now Pam, I didn't know what you might like, so I made all different kinds. If this isn't your thing, you can always eat Kix like Thomas." She laughed as Brandon brought out the box of cereal and shook it. "But the real feast will be tomorrow," he said. "Be ready for barbeque!"

"Mmmmmm…" Jim's eyes widened, knowing what kind of meal would be in store for them.

"Pizza sounds great," Pam replied to her, and with that, everyone in the family took a couple slices and they began to eat. After Brandon's introduction to Pam and a few minutes of fawning over the delicious pizza, Pam looked in Lisa's direction. "So, Lisa.. Jim tells me you attend UPenn."

"Yeah! I'll be going into my third year in the fall."

"What's your specialty? I mean, Jim told me you were studying English, but I wondered if there was any more of a focus.."

"Well, I'm a creative writing emphasis. Um, I love American writers, and I'm getting into literary theory a little bit too.. Oh! And, I'm signed up for an African-American writers class in the fall, and I'm really excited about it."

"That sounds really cool," Pam replied.

"Yeah.. I don't know what I want to do with it though.. I know that's the question everyone asks…"

"Hey," Ben chimed in, "you don't need to know what you want to do just yet. Your life will lead you to opportunities, right?"

Jim smiled at Pam, thankful for the opportunity of working at Dunder-Mifflin and getting to meet the woman of his dreams. "Absolutely," he answered, and she smiled back at him.

"So Pam," Brandon said with a tone of curiosity, "Wanna tell us about yourself? I personally am very curious to hear all about the woman that Jim has been raving about for the past few years."

"Years?" she asked, surprised.

"I.. may have mentioned your name I passing a few times after I started working with you.."

"Yeah right!" Lisa blurted out, "Like how he was totally enamored with you! Seriously, like he would go on and on about all the funny stuff you guys would do to—what's his name?"

"Dwight," both of them said at once, sighing. Then they exchanged glances and the whole family shared a laugh.

"Yeah, we all heard the stories," Rachel said, "But we all thought it was so sad when he transferred branches; we thought we'd never get to meet you!" Jim knew his family was supportive of him with things like his career, but he never realized how they had always supported him with Pam too. He felt grateful to have had that outlet to vent is frustrations last summer after she rejected him, because he may not have been sitting with her now otherwise.

"Well I'm glad to be here.. I've been bugging Jim about meeting you guys for a while too," Pam told them.

"And now you have," Brandon replied. "But you still didn't answer my question.." Pam gave him a curious look. "Tell us about yourself!"

"Oh! Right. Well, um, I really like art. Um, I'm actually taking art classes at the local art studio in Scranton.. and I've been thinking about looking into graphic design—"

"So you'd leave your _amazing_ job with Jim?" Lisa joked.

"Um, I haven't thought about it that much.."

"I'd want her to get out while she had the chance," Jim jumped in, and the whole family chuckled, remembering the stories of what Pam had to put up with at work.

"Alright, we'll have a lot of time to ask Pam more questions this weekend," Maggie informed them. "Meanwhile.. I have a great idea.." The whole family exchanged knowing glances.

Lisa announced, "Catchphrase!!" And everyone began to move. They cleaned up the table as Lisa ran into the family room to get the game. Jim gave Pam a look like she was going to be in for a weekend of this kind of family fun, and then everyone was herded into the family room to play. They divided up into teams: Jim, Pam and Ben were on one team, and Brandon, Rachel, and Lisa were on the other. Maggie was the referee and kept time. Ben started out with the first word.

"Okay," Ben said, looking at the phrase 'Santa Claus' and thinking about what to say without giving away the words, "Um, Jim, you discovered I was this man when you were seven and were very disappointed—"

"Oh! Santa Claus."

"Yes! Okay Lisa,"

Lisa had the phrase 'Chanel No. 5,' and so she gave the hint, "Rachel, this is your favorite perfume—" and Rachel got the answer with no problems. Next, it was Jim's turn, and he had the phrase 'Catherine Zeta Jones.'

"Michael Scar's love interest—" Pam had the answer, but unfortunately the timer ran out, so the other team got a point. So Jim began again, and this time, his phrase was 'Iceland.' Naturally, he said, "where the sport of Flonkerton originated—" and this time Pam got it in plenty of time, so then it was Brandon's turn. His phrase was 'Mark Twain.'

"Lisa, this is one of your favorite authors, um, Tom Sawyer—" and then Lisa guessed right, so then it was Pam's turn. Her phrase was 'Ben Franklin,' and so she knew exactly what clue to give.

"Okay, this man put the moves on me at Phyllis' bachelorette party—"

"Oh my god, Ben Franklin!" Jim laughed, and the whole family looked at them strangely.

"K, we wanna hear that story later," Maggie said. "But the timer's still goin, so Rachel—"

"Ok!" Rachel yelled excitedly. She had the phrase 'People Magazine,' and so she said, "Um, this is.. not a book, but uh.. full of celebrity gossip, ehh.."

"National Inquirer!" Brandon shouted.

"Us Weekly! Star!" Lisa added, but the time was up and so a point was added to Jim and Pam's team and then Rachel started again with a new phrase. This time, it was 'The Producers.'

"Okay, this is a Mel Brooks movie about Hitler—" and Lisa got it right, so then it came back to Ben, whose phrase was 'great white shark.'

"First word," he started out, "is the opposite of bad."

"Good—" Pam blurted out, and Ben frantically shook his head. "Um, ok.. great!"

"Yes! Okay, second word is the opposite of black—"

"White!" Jim shouted "Um, great whit—Oh! Great white shark!"

"Yes! Okay, go Lisa!" But she ran out of time and so Jim, Pam and Ben got a second point. When the timer began again, Lisa's phrase was 'Shaquille O'Neal,' so her clue was "really tall basketball player."

"Yao—what's his face?" Rachel asked.

"Nope."

"Um, Shaq?" Brandon guessed, and Lisa nodded her head, so quickly Jim got his next phrase: 'Gortex.'

He sighed sharply and began "Um, okay, this is on the lining of coats, to keep rain and stuff from seeping in—"

"Gortex!" Pam yelled, just as the timer was running out. Everyone was stunned that she had gotten such a strange word, and so for a few seconds the room was silent with awe. Then everyone applauded, satisfied to leave the game with that last phrase. Pam could sense the family winding down for the night, so she went along with it and gave a soft yawn.

"I think it's about time for everyone to hit the hay," Maggie said as she stood up and stretched. "Jim, you wanna take Pam to the guestroom upstairs?"

"Sure, Mom," he replied. He smiled at Pam and took her hand. They grabbed her bag that was still sitting in the front hallway, and made their way up the stairs. "Now, this room you're in was actually my childhood room."

"Wow, I feel so special," she joked with him. "Where are you sleeping?"

"Ah.. well, I get to sleep on the lovely pull-out couch you were sitting on in the family room."

"Really? Oh Jim, I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's okay. I'd rather you have a real bed."

"Aw thanks." She blushed, and he opened the door to his bedroom, which now didn't even look like a child had occupied it. It reminded Pam of a bedroom at a bed and breakfast, with potpourri on the nightstand and floral patterns on the drapery and bed sheets. She turned to Jim and looked at him fondly. "Well, goodnight.."

"Night." They kissed softly and parted ways, Jim heading back downstairs and Pam to her room. She admired her surroundings thoughtfully, running her fingers across the foot of the bed, and then she changed into her pajamas and got under the covers. She read a trashy romance novel for a while, and then she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," she beckoned, and Lisa popped her head through the door. "Oh, hi."

"Hi! I wanted to come and girl chat with you."

"Okay, come on in." Lisa came and sat on the foot of the bed. "So what did you want to talk about?" Pam asked.

"Well, I just wanted to tell you, how major this is that you're here. I mean, Jim didn't even want us meeting his high school and college girlfriends, and then here you are, and you get along with everyone.. You just—you make him so happy Pam. Like, everyone can see it." She blushed, delighted to hear it coming from someone else.

"Well I'm really glad I got to meet all of you too. He has never talked about you guys before, so.. I didn't know what to think!"

Lisa laughed, "Well I'm glad he saved us for someone special. This means you're really The One."

"I am?" Pam's eyes widened. She thought about the implications of what Lisa had just let escape into the universe, and her mind began to race. She saw everything in front of her so clearly: they loved each other, they made each other happy, and their timing was finally right. She contemplated for the first time of how her life was on a trajectory now, and she was excited about the places she would be taken.

"Of course you are!" Lisa interrupted her train of thought. "It's so obvious. Just promise me I can be a bridesmaid."

Pam laughed nervously, remembering it was only a little over a year ago that she had called off a wedding. "I don't think we're quite there yet, but you would of course be a bridesmaid."

"Yay! Okay, I should let you get to bed, but I just wanted you to know all that."

"Thanks," Pam replied. "I appreciate it." Lisa left quietly and Pam sighed, looking back down at her novel. She pondered the thought of Jim as a groom, Jim as a husband, Jim as a father, and she smiled to herself as she put her book down and turned off the lamp on her nightstand. She knew that even though these ideas were new to her, she could get used to them very quickly.

_Everybody needs a little encouragement! Review please!_


	8. Barbeque and Fireworks

_Author's note: ohmygosh, this took me freaking forever to formulate! I had no idea what they were going to do for Fourth of July, but I figured it out and I hope it's to your liking. I definitely want input from all of you for what other fun, summer activities they could do, so let me know! I have a couple more ideas, so hopefully I'll have the next chapter soon. And oh yeah, I don't own these characters. (Duh.) Enjoy!_

* * *

Jim awoke to the streams of light pouring in through the curtains of his parent's family room. He stretched out his body on the pull out sofa, noticing a sore muscle in his back; he figured he must've slept on it wrong. While it was a bit of an inconvenience to be sleeping on a couch instead of a bed, he wouldn't have had it any other way. Right now, Pam was sleeping in his old room, in his house, after meeting his family. Today she would meet even more family and close friends at their Fourth of July barbeque, and would become fully immersed in his world. There was no turning back now, but Jim didn't have any doubts in his mind about their future. 

Then he heard someone coming down the stairs. He sat up and rearranged the covers so it didn't look like he had gotten tangled in them during the night, and then he heard his mother's humming.

"Hi baby," she said cheerfully. "Sleep okay?"

"Yeah, thanks." He got out of bed and began to strip the couch of its covers as Maggie scurried around the kitchen.

"Want some coffee?" she asked.

"Sure."

She laughed to herself, "That smell will get everyone up! Does Pam like coffee?"

"Uh, I think she'll drink it. I know she likes tea."

"Oh! Well I'll get a teapot on the stove too." Jim finished making his bed back into a couch, and then he joined his mother in the kitchen. "Wanna help me out a bit?" she asked.

"Okay, what do you need me to do?"

"Um, well I was gonna do red, white, and blue pancakes.. wanna get the batter started? There's Bisquick in the pantry."

"Sure, Mom." So he went to gather the ingredients. There wasn't anything extremely special about red, white, and blue pancakes—it was regular pancakes with blueberries baked in and strawberries and whipped cream on the top—but it was a tradition to have them every Fourth of July, and it made Jim feel like a kid again. And he enjoyed helping his mom in the kitchen; she had always let him help when he was little, so now he felt like a somewhat confident cook.

The smell of coffee did wake everyone, and it wasn't long before the kitchen was filled with people. Pam was one of the last ones to make it downstairs, and Jim smiled at her as she came into the kitchen yawning softly. She was still in pajama pants and a camisole, and her hair was tied in a messy bun, but he thought she looked exquisite. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up," he told her.

"Mmmm…" she let out a sigh and gave him a sleepy hug. He kissed the top of her head and she commented, "Something smells really good."

"That would be, a big stack of red, white, and blue pancakes." He grabbed a platter with pancakes stacked high and moved a couple of them to a plate for her. He then elegantly squirted out some whipped cream from a can and sprinkled on some diced strawberries, and she laughed at his fervent presentation. "And, here you go."

"Lovely." She smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek, and then they both joined his family at the table. Their conversation appeared to be about Rachel's pregnancy.

"I'm just saying, it's unfair for you to drink it around me when you know I shouldn't have any."

"Rach," Brandon protested, "it's just coffee. One cup is not going to hurt the baby."

"But, what if she becomes addicted to caffeine before she's even out of the womb!" Lisa egged her brother on.

"Exactly," Rachel agreed in a serious tone, taking a sip of orange juice. "Coffee may be as bad as smoking or alcohol, and who knows? It may be what causes ADHD or Autism!"

"Really? Coffee could do all that?" Brandon still looked skeptical.

"Yeah! I read a journal article recently—"

"Rachel—" Maggie stopped her daughter-in-law and put her hand on her shoulder. "Take every piece of research you read for your articles with a grain of salt, okay? Who knows how well those studies are conducted.. and give your husband some credit; after all, he's a psychologist for gosh sakes!"

"Mom.. what does that have to do with anything?" Jim asked.

"Oh shush," snapped Maggie. She turned back to Rachel, "At least give him credit because he's your husband, and you're pregnant, and he's trying to support you all he can."

"Thank you, Mom." Brandon was relieved that someone had come to his rescue.

"Of course, baby." She winked at him and then gave Pam a responsive smile. She knew she had just diffused a situation that, due to Rachel's hormones, had the potential to become blown out of proportion, and she wanted Pam to know she would do the same thing on her behalf in a heartbeat if she and Jim ever had problems.

"You're right. It's just the smell is driving me crazy!" Rachel stood up from the table and took her plate to the sink, then stared down the Mr. Coffee while she was rinsing. "Just a couple more months.." she sighed to herself, and the family continued to eat as Rachel went to wake up Thomas.

"So do we want to tell Pam what's in store for her today?" Ben raised his eyebrow and asked the family. "Jim? You wanna fill her in?"

"Okay, well.. first, a _lot_ more family is coming over—"

"Like Aunt Rose.." Brandon chimed in.

"Oh Aunt Rose, you'll like her!" jeered Lisa.

Jim smiled at her as he continued, "And, if you enjoyed the game last night, you will have a great time today.. because we have all sorts of fun activities that we always do. Like we always have a big water balloon fight.. and some of the older folks," he nudged his father in the ribs, "play bocce ball."

Lisa added, "And we always get a good game of basketball going!"

"That sounds great," Pam replied as she polished off her pancakes and took a sip of tea. "Thank you for breakfast Mrs.—uh, Maggie."

Maggie laughed at her politeness, "No problem honey. I'm glad you liked those pancakes!"

Jim cleared his throat. "_I_ made those," he pointed out, and it made her laugh. She thanked him for breakfast instead, and then he told them, "I'm gonna go get changed," as he got up from the table.

"Hey, when you're dressed, can you help me set up the patio?" Ben asked him.

"Sure, Dad."

"Tell your brother I'd like him to help as well, if he can."

"Um, I can help if you want," Pam offered.

"Alright! The more the merrier!" Ben smiled at her and then she and Jim excused themselves and went to change. Before they parted ways, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of sight of the kitchen. He then gave her a passionate yet gentle kiss, and she reciprocated by putting her arms around him and hugging tightly.

"Wow," she sighed after they pulled away. "Good morning!"

"Good morning," he laughed at her and sent her upstairs to change. He watched her climb the stairs and pondered if he had ever been this happy before. She made him feel so comfortable, even when he was at home with the people who knew him best, and he loved how perfectly she fit in with his family. He had never understood what wanting to shout his love from the rooftops meant until that moment.

He was still gazing at the stairs when his mom walked by. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Never better," he replied, still smiling.

"That's what I thought." She fished through the pocket of her robe and pulled out a velvet box, and gave him a knowing look as she handed it to him. "There's no pressure.. your dad and I just want you to have it… In case."

Jim opened the box, and inside was his grandmother's engagement ring: a thin, golden band with three diamonds embedded in it. "Oh, Mom, I'm not planning—"

"I know. That's why I said 'no pressure.' Keep it for.. years, if you like." He gave his mother an inquisitive look, and she winked back at him. "Now, go get changed! Your dad needs help in the backyard, and you know he can never put the thing up right—"

"Haha, alright Mom. Thanks." He looked back down at the ring, gave a sigh, and turned to go into the bathroom located off the hallway.

…

"Alright, everybody!" Ben tried to get the attention of all the family and friends in his backyard. "Welcome.. to the annual Halpert Family Fourth of July barbeque. It's great to see all of you; we have assorted cold beverages in the coolers there—the blue one is the 'adult beverage cooler'—and Maggie should be bringing out the main course to uh, to grill up soon… um, until then, feel free to snack on chips and what have you.. Oh! And the bocce ball showdown will be promptly at 4pm, so if you wish to be a spectator, meet here on the patio for that. Questions?"

Brandon raised his hand, "Is bocce ball still for the over 50 division?"

"Heck yes!" an older man who was their uncle Stephen shouted. "Feeling left out, youngin?" he joked.

"Um, not in the slightest, Uncle Steve, but thanks." Rachel rolled her eyes as Jim and Pam giggled to themselves. They had been talking to family all day; everyone wanted to know how they knew each other, how long they had been dating, and had commented on how this was the first time they had seen Jim with a girlfriend, which made him uncomfortable and slightly annoyed. He was glad Pam was so gracious though, and he could not believe how she politely answered the same questions over and over.

They had just finished a conversation with Jim's cousin, Cheryl, when Rachel came over to them with Thomas. "Okay, here is Uncle Jim—can you watch him? I have to go help Maggie with the barbeque," she explained.

"Oh, sure thing," he replied, and she handed Thomas off to them and rushed back inside. "Hey Tank Engine, what have you been doing today?"

"I eated Kix!" he shouted to them as Jim hoisted him up on his lap.

"Oh yeah? Were they good?" Pam asked him.

"Yeah! I eated a lot."

"How much? Mom says you know numbers." Jim told him.

"Yes.."

"Can you show us? Show us one." Thomas lifted up one finger. "Good job," Jim praised.

Pam decided to ask him some more difficult questions, "How many Kix did you eat? Can you show us that?" Sure enough, after thinking about it for a few seconds, he held up all ten of his fingers, and the couple laughed.

"Thomas, are you excited for fireworks?" Jim asked him, and his eyes lit up. He struggled to get down and then clapped his hands, jumped around, and shouted, "Boom! Boom!"

"That'd be a yes," Pam laughed as they watched him hop. "Thomas, I noticed a swing set over there.. wanna go swing?"

Thomas stopped clapping and looked at Pam hesitantly, so Jim added, "Yeah, let's go swing. I'll push you." Knowing his uncle was going to the swings too made him feel better, and he even let Pam hold his hand as they walked over.

At the swings, Jim was very impressed with how Pam handled herself; she had always said she wasn't good with kids, but she and Thomas clicked right away. He watched her making him laugh, and he couldn't help but think of the ring his mother had given him that morning. He wondered when she'd be wearing that ring and playing with a child of their own, and she smiled at him as he was lost in thought.

"Who wants barbeque!" Ben called, and so the three of them abandoned the swings and gave Thomas back to Rachel before grabbing some food. Pam couldn't believe how good the barbequed ribs were, and she now understood how Jim had gotten to be such a good cook. While they were sitting at one of the patio tables eating, an elderly woman sat down with them, and Jim introduced her as Aunt Rose.

"Hi Dear, how have you been? How's Philadelphia?" she asked him.

He rolled his eyes and corrected her, "Scranton, Aunt Rose—"

"Oh, right right, Scranton. You know, can't you all just live in one place so I only have to remember one place?"

"That would be.. um, yeah. Aunt Rose, this is Pam." Pam shook her hand and Rose looked at her skeptically.

"She's not the pregnant one, is she," Rose asked rhetorically.

"Um, I hope not," he gave Pam a guilty look and she playfully hit his arm. "That's Rachel, Brandon's wife." He pointed out his sister-in-law, who was cutting up barbequed chicken for Thomas, and Rose showed realization in her face.

"Ahh, okay. So who are you?" she asked.

"Um, Pam. Jim's girlfriend. Hi." They shook hands again and this time Rose gave her a smirk.

"Jim, you finally have a girlfriend."

"Yep—well, this is just the first one you're meeting."

"She must be the most important one then," she replied as they all resumed eating. "So how long have you been dating?" she asked, and the same conversation they had been having with all the other relatives had returned. Luckily, Pam fielded all of Aunt Rose's questions, even if she asked them a couple times over.

After she left, Pam remarked, "Your sister was right, I _did_ like her!" Jim shook his head and she giggled at her own joke, and then he kissed her hand sweetly.

…

Dusk had just fallen on Lower Paxton, and while most of the Halpert clan had gone home for the night, a few relatives remained to watch fireworks. Everyone congregated on the lawn of the backyard with blankets, and had settled in to watch the show put on by the local golf course. Jim, Pam, and Pam's new best friend, Thomas, sat on a blanket, and Thomas entertained the two of them by singing the ABC's.

Perhaps it was because all the Halperts, even Thomas, looked alike and she was trying to imagine, or maybe it was because she had gotten along so well with everyone in his family and wanted to form a stronger bond with them, but she felt a twinge in her stomach like all she wanted was to have a child of her own with Jim. She knew it was way too soon to even start fantasizing about an idea like that, but she liked the feeling, so she decided to indulge herself. She gazed at him and thought about everything she had learned about him and his family over the last couple of days, and knew all of it was an assertion of what she had felt for him all along. She didn't believe in soul mates, but this feeling almost made her reconsider.

It wasn't long before they saw the first bursts of light in the sky, so they all laid back and watched in awe. Jim turned his head and saw reflections of light bouncing off his girlfriend's smiling face, and he felt a sense of completeness growing in his chest. He had let her meet his entire family; they all knew about her now, and so from then on they would always ask about her. He hoped he would only have good things to report to them over the years.

After the fireworks, the tired family sleepily dragged themselves back into the house and said their goodnights. Thomas was especially adamant about saying goodnight to Pam, and so he gave her a big hug before Rachel took him to their room.

"That's cute," Jim commented. "You, made a big impression on him."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"You made a big impression on my whole family. I think they like you more than me now."

"Impossible," she countered. "They love you a lot.. it was so nice to just, witness, and be a part of."

"Well, I'm glad I brought you then.. I just can't believe we have to go back to work on Monday and we can't be this.. open about everything."

"I know.." she matched his frown, but then shrugged and kissed him goodnight. "They'll have to find out eventually. But for now, we'll always have Fourth of July."

He laughed and muttered, "Yeah, I guess," and then she went into her room, winking at him before closing her door. Jim sighed and went downstairs, where he found Brandon on the couch. "Hey man," he said to him.

"Hey.. so did Pam like all the festivities?"

"Yeah, she was really happy to be here."

"Good. Yeah she looked really happy, like playing with Thomas and everything.."

"Yeah.."

Brandon cleared his throat, "So, uh, I heard Mom gave you Grandma's ring—"

"Oh, yeah.. I don't know why, I mean, we've only been dating for a couple months—"

"Jim, please. We all know how you've talked about her, and having her here just confirmed what everyone was already thinking. That ring.. wasn't anything more than acceptance of your girlfriend from your family.. cause we know how you'd want that validation."

"Thanks…" he tried to take in everything his brother had just said, and while all made sense to him, he wondered if that was all their intentions were. He did like that his family was so accepting of her, but the ring _had_ triggered sudden thoughts of a deeper commitment, so he wondered what they were really expecting of him. Instead, he decided not to think about it tonight, and told Brandon, "So, you mind getting off so I can make up my bed?"

"Oh, sorry man," he got up and headed toward the main hallway to go upstairs. "Goodnight."

"Night," Jim called back, and after he made up the pullout bed, he laid down and let his mind wander to thoughts of the future he was no longer dreading. He even thought he could work at Dunder-Mifflin for years more with Pam at his side, and he smiled to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning the family assembled in the kitchen for breakfast early; everyone had to get back on the road to their homes, but they couldn't miss one more opportunity to gather and share a meal. The conversation drifted from the close calls made in the bocce ball tournament, to the intensity of the water balloon fight, to the comparison of this year's fireworks to last year's, and before long it was time to get back on the road.

Pam hugged each of Jim's family members and thanked them thoughtfully for opening up their world to her. She began with his little sister: "Lisa, thank you so much for being so welcoming.. good luck in the fall!"

"Thanks, good luck with your graphic designing!" she replied, beaming at her.

Next, she turned to Rachel and Brandon, who were packing up the last of Thomas' things. "Thanks for letting me play with Thomas, he was a joy."

"Well, I know he had fun too!" Rachel exclaimed. "Thomas, can you say goodbye?" He sleepily opened his eyes and waved at her, and they all chuckled at how tired he was.

Finally, she hugged Ben and Maggie, "Thank you for, everything. The nice bed, the amazing food—"

"It was our pleasure—" Maggie told her.

Ben added, "You better come back now!"

"Oh, of course I will—"

"You don't even have to bring Jim!" he joked.

"Funny, Dad." Jim gave his parents a hug, and everyone piled out the door and into their respective cars, and then said their final goodbyes. Pam gave a heavy sigh as they pulled out of their subdivision, and so he asked her, "What did you think?"

"It was.. so great. Really, I had so much fun."

He smiled at her, "Good." They pulled onto I-81 to head back toward Scranton, and soon enough Jim noticed Pam had drifted off to sleep. He turned down the music playing and simply kept driving, knowing their future lay just ahead of them.

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_Wow, long chapter! Review!_


	9. Secret Weekends

_Author's note: guys, this chapter is mostly setting up plotlines, so I hope it doesn't disappoint, and I hope you'll be anxious to see how everything turns out. Grace, I totally used your ideas; they were so good, how could I not use them! I've thrown in a few of my own though, just for spice. You know what ideas aren't mine though? These characters. I would be rich right now if they were my ideas, but they're not, so don't sue. Read, review, and enjoy!_

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A few weeks had passed since the Fourth of July weekend, and Jim and Pam now found it surprisingly difficult to be secretive around the office. It was tough not to be openly physical, and so they adapted by instant messaging each other constantly and nonchalantly sitting next to each other at lunch in the break room. Every so often at lunch, Pam would innocently and unexpectedly place her hand on Jim's thigh, and would stare up at the ceiling with an angelic look in her eyes. It drove him wild, but all he could do was continue to eat and hope no one noticed her hand under the table.

The most magical part of their secret relationship was the weekends: every Friday night they would have an evening in to relax and "watch movies." They had yet to make it through an entire film though, because someone would always initiate a kiss or touch, and it wouldn't be long before clothing was shed and the movie was the last thing on their minds. Most recently, Jim's sister, Lisa, had jokingly sent him a book called The Cookie Sutra, filled with pictures of a gingerbread man and woman in illicit positions; determined not be shown up by food, the couple was slowly working their way through the delectable book.

On the mornings following their trysts, Pam would have her art class, and Jim would accordingly have lunch waiting for her afterward. On this particular Saturday though, he drove her to class, because he told her he would have a special surprise for her when he picked her up. She could hardly contain herself as she sketched, and her friends surrounded her and speculated what his surprise might be.

"Maybe," Caitlyn guessed, "he's taking you somewhere.. like to a nice hotel in the city or something!"

"I dunno…" Pam frowned. "It feels like we just went somewhere for Fourth of July…"

"Yeah, to his parents'," scoffed Jaclyn. "Meeting family is nice, but it's hardly romantic. Did you even sleep in the same bed with him?"

"He slept on the pull-out couch.."

Jaclyn rolled her eyes, "Wow, _real_ romantic." She smiled at Pam and they both giggled at her sarcasm. She knew she and Jim still hadn't spent a night away together, but she was in no rush; her new mindset was that they had all the time in the world to reach those milestones, so she would sit back and let events take their course.

Class passed by slowly but surely, and afterward the girls headed out into the studio parking lot, where they saw Jim patiently waiting in his car. They rushed over, anxious to interrogate him, and then cooed over what was sitting in the passenger seat: a large picnic basket and blanket.

"Hey guys.. what's up?" He raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend, and Pam bit her lip to keep the happily shocked expression off her face. "Oh, uh.. the surprise is, we're having a picnic.. if you couldn't tell."

"Jim, you are too cute. I wish my husband did stuff like this for me!" Shannon told him. He shrugged and smiled lopsidedly as Pam moved the picnic basket to the back seat and got in the car. They said their farewells to the girls and drove off toward the local park.

"I can't believe you planned a picnic," she looked at him admiringly.

"Is it hard to believe?"

"Well, no. But no one's ever done something like this for me before.."

He took her hand and kissed it tenderly, "Well, they should've. It was their loss..." Then a smirk crept across his face, "So wait, are you saying you're a picnic virgin?"

Pam sighed, embarrassed, "Oh my god—"

"Are you?"

"Yes. I am.. a, picnic virgin." They exchanged glances and laughed at their own absurdity, and soon they were at the park and unloading their goods. They found a nice sunny spot on the grass and spread themselves out; Jim had packed an array of food for them, including ham and cheese sandwiches, pasta salad, and freshly-cut fruit, and she made sure to grab a little of everything.

"So, why did you decide to do this?" she asked, munching on a slice of watermelon.

"Well, to be honest, I just wanted to go out with you somewhere," he took a bite of pasta salad and continued, "It seems like we always stay in, and I was kinda getting sick of it—"

"Maybe, we can go out more often.. Like we could go to the movies instead of renting movies.."

"I don't think the public would appreciate our movie-watching style." He raised his eyebrows at her suggestively and she playfully smacked his arm. "I mean, I understand why we can't go out places," he continued, "cause people may see us and get suspicious.."

"But, it's not like there's paparazzi after us or anything," she pointed out, taking a big bite of watermelon and catching some of the excess juice with her fingertips. "And if you want to go out, then we should go out. Now, where do you want to go?.. Um, besides here, I mean."

"Uh, well—" he braced himself, knowing the mere insinuation of his idea would mean rejection, but he decided to try anyway. "I wanted to take you to.. a Phillies game."

"Jim—"

"What?"

"You know how I feel about that kind of thing.." Her words sounded more like she was scolding him for looking at porn than for requesting to take her to a sporting event, but she felt allowed to still have a sore spot. After all, she almost ended up marrying the guy that left her at one on their first date. In the back of her mind though, she wanted him to help that wound heal, and so she secretly wished he would keep pushing her.

He shook his head, "I don't get.. why I'm being punished for something another guy did. I mean, to be fair, he—ugh.. he didn't care about you like I do." She could tell from the look in his eyes that he was being serious, and just to try and convince her more, he went on, "And we can make the day all about you. I will.. buy you a jersey, I'll.. try and catch a fowl ball for you.. um..."

"…Can we get those peanuts that are still in the shells?" she asked him, smiling; he had persuaded her into giving sports a second chance.

"Absolutely. Whatever you want." He placed his hand on her chin and drew her in for a soft kiss. They pulled apart though, when Pam heard soft bells playing familiar melodies of "Turkey in the Straw" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." She darted her head around to see where the music was coming from, and then she saw it: a big, yellow ice cream truck was passing by the park. She turned back to Jim, wide-eyed and smiling, and he responded with the challenge, "Race ya."

"You're on." The two of them took off; Pam proved to be pretty fast, but Jim caught her as they got closer to the truck, wrapping his arms around her and slowing her down. They laughed together as they walked up to the stopped ice cream truck, whose driver had seen them running, and then the vendor leaned out the window and asked them what they wanted.

"Um, oh! I want a Firecracker," Pam told him, and so he handed her a colorful Popsicle shaped like a rocket.

Jim added, "And.. I will have a Fudgesicle," giving the man a few singles in exchange for his chocolate bar, and the two of them walked happily back to their picnic, slowly eating their frozen treats.

What they hadn't noticed though, was someone who had waited to go up to the truck until after they had left, someone who had seen the two of them together from her car and pulled over just to get a better look, becoming very curious as to what exactly was going on. The petite woman ordered a Drumstick, and then turned to watch the couple eating and laughing together. She thought about what an interesting development this was: how after years of sneaking around with a boyfriend of her own, she finally had some good gossip on people she worked with. She fiddled with the cross pendant hung abround her neck, relishing in who she might be able to tell first, but then she thought about how Pam had kept her secret, and then had a change of heart.

"Your secret is safe with me," Angela whispered to them from afar. She took a bite of her ice cream and then began walking away, making a mental note to watch them for slip-ups the following Monday. Her cell phone began to buzz, and she answered, "D? I'm on my way. Just stopped in the park for a few minutes…"

Back at the picnic blanket, the couple had finished their ice creams and were now packing up leftover food. Pam could not believe how fast things were changing for her; only a couple months had gone by, and she was now in a relationship with a guy she was almost certain she was in love with. She had met his family, she had opened up to him on many levels, and he was helping her try new things, which felt like major improvements in her life. She was nervous about going to a baseball game, and she knew that if they kept going out in public more often together, they were bound to be found out, but her rational side kept telling her she didn't need to worry. All she knew for sure was she loved being with him, and she didn't care who knew it.

Jim finished folding up the blanket; he was glad that their picnic had been such a success, and that she had agreed to go to a Phillies game with him. He had to make sure to pay extremely close attention to her that day so she felt comfortable with him in an uncomfortable place, but he admired that she was willing to take a chance. He smiled at her as she picked up the basket, "Ready to go?"

"Yep.. Thank you, again," she blushed.

"Of course. I'm glad we did this.'

"Me too." He put his arm around her, and they walked back to his car together, both nervous and anxious about their upcoming date at a baseball game.

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_More chapters are coming soon, I promise! __Review!_


	10. Coffee with Angela

_Author's note: this chapter is super-cute and I kinda almost wish I could see it on the TV show. You know what I asked Santa for Christmas? I asked for the writer's strike to be over. FF will have to suffice for now.. stupid network executives. Read, review, and enjoy!_

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The next Monday at work, Pam seemed to notice Angela around every corner. She felt like she was a science experiment that was up for observation, and it made her extremely uncomfortable to be constantly watched. It didn't help that with every interaction she made, Angela scribbled down notes in a small, pink notebook; whatever kind of experiment this was, she was likely to have it published in a scientific journal with her diligent note taking. By lunchtime, she finally decided to confront her.

"Hey, Angela," she started, handing her a red folder, "Here are those expense reports you asked for."

Angela stared at her with an incriminating look on her face. "Thank you," she said coldly. She turned to her desk, but Pam reached out for her arm.

"Hey—um, would you like to go out to lunch? We could just grab coffee.. I feel like we need to catch up." Angela raised her eyebrow at the suggestion, curious both as to why she was being so friendly and what details she could get out of her if they did go to lunch.

She finally gave a smirk, "Yes. I would like that. I do want to catch up."

"Good. Just, let me get my purse." Angela watched as she walked to reception, interested to see if she gave a signal to her man that she wouldn't be able to eat with him. Sure enough, she did, and so she thought for good measure, she would bring her notebook along. She joined Pam at the front of the office, and together they walked out the doors.

…

"So," Pam said as they sat down at a booth of the coffee shop, "I know you went to the Pocono's a couple weeks ago.. How was it?"

"Relaxing. There was a gentleman friend with me who took good care of me."

"Oh really?"

Angela took a sip of her iced cappuccino, "Yes. We camped out, and so he built a lean-to out of tree branches for me, he took me on nature hikes, and he even shot his own dinner." Pam's eyes widened as she shuddered at the thought of Dwight with a loaded gun.

"Wow.. How interesting. He sounds like a very handy man to have around.."

"Yes. He is the most stalwart man I have ever known…"

Pam rolled her eyes and decided it would be all right to probe her a little more. After all, she had been writing notes about her all day. "I would love to meet him sometime—" She started, but then Angela shot her a dirty look.

"Well, everyone would love to meet yours too."

"What does that mean?"

"I think you know." Angela took out her pink notebook and began flipping through the pages. She cleared her throat and started to read: "9:07 am; Curly Sue is late and Big and Tall looks worried; he takes out his cell phone, then puts it back as she walks through the door."

Pam crossed her arms and sat back in her seat, stunned and angry with what Angela had been doing all morning. She wondered how she could've possibly figured this out, especially since they had been trying to be careful. Angela continued, "9:24 am; Big and Tall scribbles on a sticky note and casually drops it at reception after taking some jellybeans; Curly Sue reacts with fervor. 10:02 am; Curly Sue talks with the Alchy in the kitchen; has glanced at Big and Tall exactly 11 times. 10:14 am—"

"Okay, that's enough!" Pam whispered harshly to her with a vengeful look in her eyes. "I know about you and Dwight, okay? I have known for a very long time, and as far as obviousness around the office goes, the two of you may as well swap saliva every time you cross paths."

"Excuse me?" Angela's eyes were wide with fear; perhaps, she thought, she had pushed to far.

"You heard me. The fact that no one but me has figured out your secret after so long is astonishing, but you should thank your lucky stars that they haven't. And what you're doing to me—" She picked up the pink book that now lay on the table between them, "—is hypocritical. So.. cease and desist. Please." She handed the book back to her and gave her a judgmental look, indicating that she wanted it to disappear.

Angela gave a sigh, knowing if she exposed Pam to everyone, then she would have no hesitations about turning the tables on her. "We.. have a détente then," she said with a tone of uncertainty in her voice.

"Yeah. We do." She held her hand out, and Angela shook it, keeping a watchful eye on her for any signs of bluffing. "So.. can we start over?" Pam asked her.

"Yes."

"How was going to the Pocono's with Dwight? What.. did he shoot for your dinner?"

She flashed her a genuine smile as she thought of her man in hunting gear; even though she didn't like that he hunted, she did like when he dressed in any kind of uniform. "I did not eat what he killed, but he shot and ate a ruffed grouse."

"What.. what is that?"

"It's like a partridge… Apparently they are rare in summer. Their hunting season begins in September."

Pam looked at her with confusion, "Wouldn't it be illegal to shoot one now then?"

"Oh.. I suppose it would be." The girls laughed and sipped their iced coffees, happy that they both now had secrets to bond over. Pam was especially relieved that she was no longer under investigation, and that she had sworn Angela to secrecy. With all this in place, she felt comfortable divulging every detail about her and Jim to her, and Angela stealthily ate up every word.

"So, you've met his family?" she asked casually. "The only family of Dwight's I've met is Mose.. Mose is very interesting."

Pam smiled at her and answered, "Yeah, I met them over Fourth of July. They are so nice.. It was great just being open about our relationship. That's the one downside of work, is we have to sneak around and stuff."

"_That_ is your one downside?"

"Well, what would your one downside be?"

Angela cocked her head to the side and squinted at the ceiling, her mind pouring over the endless amounts of possible downsides of work. Finally, she came up with an answer: "Kevin." Pam tried to stifle her laughter, but Angela smiled and shook her head, knowing that her constant banter with him was somewhat humorous. "Well, I applaud you for not sneaking around after-hours.. That's actually how I found out about the two of you: I saw you in the park on Saturday."

"Oh, you did?"

"Yes. I thought it was terribly romantic to go on a picnic."

"Well, that's Jim's creativity for you—"

"Wait," Angela interrupted, "_He_ planned the picnic?" Pam nodded, and she clutched her hand to her heart and continued, "Oh, that is wonderful." She had never pegged Angela for a hopeless romantic, but Pam was glad they could gush over Jim's caring gestures together, and she thought maybe a new leaf was turning for their friendship.

"He's actually planning to take me to a baseball game soon.. I don't know how I feel about it though."

"Why? What's the problem?"

"Well," Pam thought about how to explain. "Roy left me at a hockey game on our first date.. And it's one of those things that seems insignificant, but you have bad feelings attached to it, so it kind of.. scars you."

Angela nodded sympathetically, "Everyone has those. I, for instance, had to change carpet cleaners because the one I used to have made a snide comment about how many cats I own." Pam furrowed her brow and gave her a nod, wondering what a carpet cleaner could have possibly said to make Angela that mad. "But Jim and Roy are very different," she continued, "Jim is the kind of man who is excited about introducing you to his family and plans picnics in the park. That kind of man would never abandon you at a sporting event."

"True." Pam ran her fingers around the edge of her cup, which was now empty. "Thank you. I really appreciate talking to you about this."

"Yes, it's been enjoyable." They exchanged a cordial glance and then Angela noticed the clock on the wall, "Oh gosh, it's already one. We should go."

"Oh wow, yeah we should." They both stood up and threw out their coffee cups, and then made their way back to the office.

…

Pam sat down at reception and began to catch up on a large stack of files that had been placed on her desk when she heard the phone ring. She picked up the receiver and gave her usual greeting, "Dunder-Mifflin, this is Pam," and was surprised to hear a child's voice on the other end.

"Pam! Pam! I played in da pool!" She immediately recognized Thomas' voice, and then heard Rachel on another receiver, "Hi Pam, it's Rachel. I told Thomas I was calling Uncle Jim and he asked about you, so we decided to call the main line."

"Oh, hi there Thomas! You went to the pool today?"

"Yeah."

"Did you have fun?"

"Yeah!" he shouted, and Pam couldn't help but laugh at his energy. Rachel then asked, "Thomas, what did we do at the pool?" After a few seconds of silence, Rachel gave up and decided to just tell her herself, "Thomas played in some fountains."

"Oh yeah? Did you like the fountains, Thomas?"

"Yes."

Pam giggled at Thomas, and then noticed Phyllis coming toward her desk, so she decided to stop the conversation short. "Ok, Rachel? I have to go, so let me patch you through."

"Okay. It was great talking to you! Say goodbye Thomas!"

"Byebye!"

"Bye.." She hung up and began talking to Phyllis, and then Jim's line rang and he picked up, knowing from overhearing Pam's conversation that it was his sister-in-law on the other line.

"Hey sis, how's maternity leave treating you?"

"Technically Jim, I'm still working on my column. I can just work from my laptop as I chase Thomas around and go to the bathroom every five seconds."

"Alright. That is good information to know.."

"Very funny," Rachel told him flatly as she imagined his wide-eyed expression on the other end; she was used to the Halpert sense of humor. "Do you still even want these _amazing_ tickets I scored for you? I had to bribe the sports columnist with a batch of my famous oatmeal cookies to get my hands on them."

"Yes, please."

"Okay. I'll send them out to you by mail. They're a few rows behind the Phillies dugout, between home and first."

"Perfect. Thank you so much Rachel."

"Oh please. Just have a great time and give Pam our love."

"I will. Bye Rach." Jim hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, glancing at the reception desk. Pam looked up and smiled at him, and he smirked back and went back to his work.

At the end of the day, Pam watched as Angela and Dwight timed themselves perfectly so they could walk out of the office together, and she smiled at her as she passed her desk. They were both glad for their conversation at lunch, if not for anything else then for a secret ally at work, and Pam sighed as Dwight reached out for Angela's hand and she recoiled. She wondered if they would ever be comfortable to tell people they were dating.

"So what are you up to tonight?" Jim asked her as he put his messenger bag over his head.

"Um, well it's Monday, so Heroes is on."

"Oh yeah, fun. I might watch that." She smiled at him and then looked around for any witnesses. They were the last ones left in the office.

She smiled at him coyly, "Wanna come over and watch it with me?" She grabbed her purse and they walked out the door to the elevators, his arm around her shoulder.

"I.. might want to do that." They got in the elevator and she slipped him a kiss on the cheek as the doors were closing. Today had been a good day.

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_You know the drill: review!_


	11. Foul Ball

_Author's note: whew! Let me tell you, I do not know much about baseball, or the Phillies for that matter, so this is like the most research I've done for a chapter yet. I hope it all sounds pretty realistic, and I hope you are also enjoying where the plot is going. We're winding down the story now; I imagine Michael will hit Meredith with his car fairly soon. But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, so don't frown, kiddies! Just a reminder, I don't own these characters. If I did, I would be paying those writers whatever they wanted to crank out new episodes. Enjoy!_

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"You're not even ready," Jim commented as Pam opened her front door, still in her bathrobe with a towel on her head. He was anxious to get on the road because they had a two and a half hour drive ahead of them; the Phillies game started at 3pm, and it was already noon. He wasn't about to rush her though, because he wanted this day to go perfectly for her.

"I just have to get dressed.. and do my hair," she sheepishly admitted. His fanatic ensemble amused her: he was wearing the classic striped Phillies jersey, jeans, red and white sneakers, and a red baseball cap that carried their emblem. She wondered what clothes could compliment him and ran through all the different combinations in her mind.

"All you need to do is put your hair up," he told her as he pulled a baby blue Phillies cap from behind his back; her face lit up when she saw it.

"Oh wow, how sweet! Thank you," she kissed him sweetly and then rushed into her bedroom. "I know what I can wear," she shouted as he made his way to her.

"Oh yeah?" he peeked his head into her room, and saw her standing just outside her closet in her underwear, her robe discarded on her bed. She half-jumped when she noticed him and quickly covered herself with her hands, but then laughed and shook her head, embarrassed that she had felt the need to cover up in front of him. All he could do was smile and stare at the ceiling.

"Jim.. is the magic gone?" she asked as she clipped her bra on and hoisted up the straps.

"What, does that mean?"

"I mean, now that we've been together for a while, are we so comfortable around each other that it's not a big deal for you to see me like this.."

"Oh, yeah," he nodded. "The magic is totally gone. Your body is just.. nauseating to me now." He rolled his eyes and she laughed as she put on a white t-shirt and navy blue Bermuda shorts.

"That's what I was afraid of," she said as she rushed to her mirror and tied her damp hair back. She put the baby blue cap on, grabbed her purse and announced, "Ready!"

"Great. Let's go."

…

The couple arrived at Citizens Bank Park just fifteen minutes before the start of the game. There was a huge crowd there because the Phillies were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates that day, and fans from all over Pennsylvania had come to see the showdown. Jim held Pam's hand as they pushed their way through the concession area, and he kept looking back at her to make sure she hadn't disappeared into the crowd.

He felt a pull on his hand as they passed a food stand. "Let's get some peanuts. I haven't eaten since breakfast," she hollered to him, and he naturally obliged. He ordered two large beers for them as well, and so with their hands full, they carefully made their way to their seats.

"Wow," Pam exclaimed as they sat down. They were only a few rows behind the Phillies dugout, and they seemed to have a perfect view of the pitcher's mound and first base. "How did you get these seats?" she asked, and all Jim could do was shrug and give her a smirk. Then the announcer's voice came over the loudspeaker, and so they stood up and removed their caps for the national anthem. The game moved fairly slowly during the first couple of innings, and so it gave the two of them time to talk, relax, and enjoy each other's company.

"So you're saying I'm a hypocrite?" Pam gave him a joking, yet skeptical look.

"I'm just saying, that if you _say_ you're going to wear your hair down and then you don't, then that's _hypocritical_," he corrected her.

"But tying it back is so easy," she protested.

"No one said being 'Fancy New Beesly' was going to be easy—" they clapped as the Phillies got a runner around to home plate.

"…Michael will make a big deal out of it."

"Eh," Jim shrugged, "He would probably say something sooner or later if you _didn't_ change your hairstyle, you know?"

She sighed as she took a sip of beer, "So I'm damned if I do, and I'm damned if I don't… Maybe I'll try it. Promise you'll comment on it?"

"Oh, of course. I'll be very smooth about it too." He raised his eyebrows at her and she laughed at his cocky attitude. "Okay, so do you know what the secret is to catching a foul ball?" he asked as he picked up the catcher's mitt he had brought with him and handed it to her.

"Nope. What's the secret?" she asked, putting on the glove and punching her hand a few times, imitating a catcher.

"The secret is... to have long arms."

"Oh, come on!" she smacked his arm playfully with the leather mitt and he wrapped his arms around her, giving her a big kiss on the cheek. Jim loved how he could be affectionate with her in public; being secretive at work was fun, but sometimes he just wanted to hold her hand during a meeting or linger at reception to make plans with her for the night. It frustrated him that those kinds of things weren't possible in their situation, but he was glad she had no qualms about being openly loving with him outside the office.

"Oh look," Pam pointed to the dugout, "The Phillie Phanatic is dancing!" Sure enough, there was a hairy green monster with a Phillies jersey on and a blow-out noisemaker for a tongue dancing on the top of the dugout. The two applauded and laughed at the mascot, who deserved a lot of credit for acting like a fool, and then Pam turned and smiled at him, "I'm really having a good time."

"I'm glad. Better than a minor league hockey game?" They heard jeers from the crowd as two Pittsburg Pirates crossed home.

"Oh, so much better. It's not even a contest."

"Good," they then heard the crowd gasp and looked up at a baseball slowly falling right into their section. "Oh man!" Jim shouted as they stood up quickly and exchanged a glance. She practically jumped for the ball as he supported her by grabbing her waist and lifting her up, and sure enough, she caught it with the tip of the glove. The fans around them gave sounds of disappointment that they hadn't caught it themselves, and Pam simply looked at the ball in complete shock. She then embraced Jim as he let her down. "Oh my god, that was awesome!" he exclaimed as they jumped up and down with excitement.

"Oh! We're on the big screen!" she cried out as she held up the ball and the crowds cheered. They waved into the camera that was focused on them and then sat back down, examining the ball she had miraculously caught. "This is so cool," she said in amazement, "This kind of thing never happens to me."

"Your luck is changing," he commented, smiling at her.

"I guess it is," she smiled back.

He then felt a vibration in his pocket and pulled out his phone. "It's Kevin." He looked at her with a confused expression on his face, and she matched his look as he answered, "Hey Kev."

"Jim, I'm at the game, and I just saw you guys on the big screen," he told him. "What section are you? I'm coming to see you—"

"Oh, uh, 117, but Kev—"

"Hey what are you doing here with Pam anyway?.. You're hitting that, aren't you?"

"No, man, we're just here as friends, having a good time." He gave her a concerned look and turned the volume up on his phone so she could hear.

"No way," Kevin continued, "I saw you guys hugging after she caught the foul ball. That was a more-than-a-friend hug." He glanced at her looking alarmed, and Pam gave him a wink, letting him know to play it cool. "I'm coming down the stairs," he told them.

"Ok, Kev. Oh, I see you," he pointed to him and the two waved as he made his way down the steps. He arrived at their row and they stood up to greet him, "Hey man, how are ya?"

"Crappy. Top of the fifth and we're down by three—hey Pam.." He tried to stifle a giggle.

"Hi Kevin," she replied, "Want to see my foul ball?"

"Yeah!" He grabbed the ball from her hands and gazed at it intently. "This was some catch, you guys.. Really impressive."

"I was surprised I caught it. So many other people around me tried to grab it, I was sure someone else would end up with it."

"Sometimes you just get lucky," Jim offered. The crowed roared as two Phillies players came across home plate.

"Do you ever!" Kevin nudged Jim to alert him to his double entendre, and all he could do in reply was shake his head, half-smiling.

"Where are you sitting?" Pam asked him as people applauded for a third man crossing home.

"Oh.. nosebleed section." He pointed up and over to the balconies by third base.

"That sucks," commented Jim.

"Yeah, oh well. How'd you guys get all the way up here?"

"Oh, my sister-in-law gave them to me. She works for the Philadelphia Inquirer and got them from the sports columnist."

"That, is, awesome," Kevin replied with a serious look on his face. "How do you do it man?" Jim shrugged as they glanced over at the game and saw a fourth and fifth man get to home. "Oh man, how'd we make so many runs? I'd better get back to my seat."

"Okay," Jim gave his friend a high-five, "Good to see you man."

"Yeah…" he hugged Pam goodbye and started up the stairs, "You two have fun.. not too much fun though!" he called back.

He looked at her with a worried expression and she bit her lip; they both knew their days of secrecy were soon coming to close. They sat back down and finally Pam spoke up, "Who'd believe Kevin? He's always exaggerating things like this."

"Yeah.." Jim replied with a twinge of uncertainty in his voice. "Wanna just watch the game and not worry about it?"

"That sounds good." And with that, they returned to the Phillies, who were now winning by a considerable amount.

…

It was almost midnight by the time the couple made it back to Scranton, and so Pam had drifted off into a light catnap as Jim drove. The Phillies had won by five, which had made the day even sweeter than it already was, and he was certain now that he had cured her of her sporting event phobia. After all, he didn't even leave her at the stadium. He softly nudged her as he pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex. "Hey sleepyhead, we made it."

She let out a soft, "mmmm," and stretched her arms out, smiling sleepily at him. He chuckled as he parked and got out to run around the car and open her door. He gave her his hand to help her out, and they walked to her front door with their fingers entwined. They engaged at a soft kiss at her door, and when they pulled away, she asked him, "What game are we going to next?"

He laughed and looked at her admiringly, "How about the Sixers? Their season starts in late fall."

"Sounds good," she replied. "Hey, I want to tell you something, just, now that Kevin suspects something."

"Yeah?"

Pam fiddled with her keys, embarrassed to tell him. "Angela knows. She saw us in the park last Saturday.."

"Huh. I guess those accountants are pretty bright," he tried to joke. "It'll be okay. I mean, how long can an office romance stay a secret anyway?" Pam's mind jumped to Angela and Dwight, and she bit her lip so as not to spill their secret. She just shook her head and leaned in for a kiss, and he responded by matching her embrace. "So, you know how Ryan called earlier this week?"

"Yeah."

"Well.." Now it was Jim's turn to admit something, "He wants Michael to go to this sales consulting seminar in Providence.. and Michael told me that, as his number two, I was obligated to go as well." He could see dissatisfaction in her eyes, and so he went on, "And believe me, I tried _everything_ to get out of it, but Ryan actually agreed with Michael, and so I have to go…. We leave tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh.. how long will you be gone?"

Jim put his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground, mentally smacking himself for waiting until that moment to bring it up. "Like, a little less than a week.. We come back next Saturday."

"Oh.." she sighed as she also stared at the pavement, knowing he felt bad for waiting until the last second to tell her. She tried to think of something positive to say, but what could be said about a week with Michael? Instead, she said, "Well, I guess you'll be happy to get home next Saturday."

"Ha! Yeah.."

"Hey, um—"

"Yeah?"

She gave him a suggestive smirk, "Since we won't be seeing each other for a week, do you wanna.. come upstairs?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled back. "Absolutely I do."

* * *

_Review! Just do it._


	12. Crash

_Author's note: this falls on the darker side of my normal fiction, and I hope all the emotions come through fairly well. It always bugged me in the show that they didn't explain why the heck she picked him up at that arbitrary spot when the camera crew ousted them in the "Fun Run" episode, so I think this works as a possibility. I don't wanna give any more than that away, so just go read. Enjoy!_

* * *

Pam rested her head on her hand as she stared at her computer, her other hand slowly working the mouse. Things had been pretty uneventful that week with both Jim and Michael gone: Kevin had harassed her about being with Jim at the baseball game, which she vehemently denied was anything more than two friends out for the afternoon, and Dwight had annoyed her somewhat when he spilled beet juice all over the kitchen floor and made her clean it up. Otherwise, she had been painstakingly bored. She looked over at her calendar with a week of red x's in it, indicating her week without Jim was coming to an end.

She missed him.

It was different from the way she missed him when he had been at Stamford, because then she didn't think he'd ever be coming back to her, and so she forced herself to move on. Now, she was only a day away from being in his arms, and it hurt her to know she was so close to feeling his embrace, and yet she still had to get through more than a day without him. The minutes passed like they were hours, and she felt worn down from waiting.

She glanced up from her computer as she saw Angela come through the doors. She smiled as cheerful of a smile as she could. "Hi. How was your lunch break?"

Angela furrowed her brows in concern, "My cat, Sprinkles, has an infection on her tail. She has so many ailments already, and still comes to the door whenever she hears me coming in. She is so brave."

"Oh," Pam replied, only half-listening. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Are you okay?" she rhetorically asked, giving her a knowing look as to why she had been somber all week.

"Oh.. yeah. I'm fine."

Angela gave a sigh like she didn't want to hear about it, even though Pam hadn't said a word on the subject. "Fine." She marched back to her desk, leaving Pam to continue her mindless computer work. Another minute had passed by.

…

Pam awoke to the faint melody of her cell phone ringing on her nightstand. She glanced at the clock and thought of who could be calling at two in the morning, so she wiped her eyes and grabbed the phone off the table. _Jim_. The caller ID said Jim. She quickly opened it and answered; anxious to talk to him and wondering why he could be calling so late.

"Hello?"

"Pam! It's me—"

She heard alarm in his tone and her eyes became wide. "Jim? What's wrong?"

"I got in a car crash—I'm fine, but my car is pretty busted up."

She rushed for her shoes as soon as she heard those words come through the receiver. "Where are you?"

"I'm in Dunmore—I just got off I-81—"

"I'll be right there." She closed her phone and grabbed her keys, her heart racing with fear. She reminded herself, _he said he was fine_, but she knew she couldn't relax until she saw him. Before she even knew it, she was in her car heading toward the interstate.

…

Pam pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store as she got close to the flashing police and ambulance lights. Jim's car looked awful: the driver of the other car had slammed into the passenger side of the Saab 92X, mangling its shape to look concave. She ran to the scene, frantically looking for him, but was stopped by a policeman.

"Hey lady, you wanna step back? There's a lot of glass and other pieces of sharp stuff around here."

"Oh.." She moved backward at the officer's request, and then spotted him standing at the ambulance on the scene. "Jim!" She called out to him, tears practically welling up in her eyes as she saw that his right arm was being bandaged; he looked shaken up, and had several small cuts and dried blood all over his clothing. He smiled as soon as he saw her though, which made he feel somewhat at ease.

"You know him?" the officer asked.

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend. He called me—"

The officer looked around and sighed, "Okay, you can go on over."

"Thank you." She ran to him, making sure to avoid pieces of glass scattered in the street, and he held out his free arm to give her a hug. He winced a little as she brushed against his fresh wounds, but he was too overwhelmed with joy that she was there to worry about the pain. She buried her head in his chest, wiping the few tears she had shed on his shirt, and he kissed the top of her head affectionately. "I am so glad you're okay—What.. what are you doing here anyway? I thought your seminar was over tomorrow—"

He gave her an assuring look, one that she had seen from him on several other occasions, particularly when she had been engaged. She remembered how that look used to scare her, because it implied his feelings for her when she didn't know if she felt the same way about him. Now, she felt comforted by that look, and she matched his gaze as he explained that he had come home for her, "Well, they're just doing closing remarks and other boring stuff tomorrow, so I thought I'd come home early and surprise you—"

"Well, this is really a surprise," she tried to laugh at the situation, and he smiled at her attempt.

"Yeah, uh, I was turning left," he motioned to where he was trying to turn at the other side of the intersection, "cause the light was blinking red, and this car just came out of nowhere trying to go straight through. The other driver was knocked unconscious, so he's on his way to the hospital—"

She glanced at his arm, which was just about finished being bandaged. "Oh, what about you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. There's just some.. some cuts on my arm and uh, my torso here—" he pointed to his right side and lifted up his shirt a bit so she could see bandaged up gashes.

"He's very lucky," the paramedic commented as he wrapped Jim's forearm in gauze. "None of these wounds were deep enough to do serious damage to muscle or nerves. It helped that the car hit him on the passenger side. You have some good reflexes too," he turned to him and added, "to put your arm up to block your head—"

"Well I try," he replied and smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay, we're just about finished here," he told them. "I have some insurance forms for you to sign, and I'm going to give you some replacement bandages. You should change these ones in about 12 hours, and within a day or so you should go to your general physician to make sure there's nothing more serious going on."

"K.." Jim began signing the forms just as a tow truck was pulling up to the scene. "Can you handle the car?" he asked Pam, fishing his wallet out of his back pocket. She nodded, and he handed her a business card for a local body shop. "That's where he should take it. I called there and left them a message."

"Ok." She made her way over to the tow truck driver as one of the officers approached him, asking for his statement. After they had finished their business, Jim was free to go, and so he went over to stand with Pam to watch the truck driver secure his car to the tow bed. He tried to not think about how inconvenient it was going to be to not have a car and instead told himself he was lucky to be alive and unharmed. He sighed though, not being able to help wondering how he'd get around now.

"Okay, we're square," the tow truck driver jolted him from his train of thought. "Your insurance company will bill you for the tow—This your ride home?" he motioned to Pam and Jim nodded his head. "Alright then, I'll make sure we get this guy to the body shop."

"Thanks," he shook the driver's hand and the couple turned to walk to her car in silence, Jim still somewhat lost in his thoughts of what he could do for the next few weeks. He hoped his car was repairable at the least, and he let out a heavy sigh thinking about what he could do if it wasn't. She sensed his worry, and so she reached out for his hand and laced her fingers with his. He looked down at her and she gave him a comforting smile.

"Do you want me to take you to your place?" she asked as they got in the car.

"Yeah.. that'll be good," he let out another sigh.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Sorry, what?"

"What are you thinking about?"

He reached for his seatbelt, "I'm just.. processing."

"Oh." She watched him struggle for words and wanted so desperately to be let in to his thoughts. She decided the best way to help him open up would be to lead by example: "I'm so glad you're okay. You don't know how much of a wreck I'd be if you had to go to the hospital—"

"Yeah… I hope the other guy's okay.."

"Me too.." she wanted to continue, hoping something would strike a chord with him and get him to talk. "But I wonder also if your car will be okay." He rubbed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh; she knew now this was what he was distressed about.

"I just—" he began. "My insurance is going to go through the roof. And I may have to get a new car, and what will I do without a car until I hear back from the body shop—"

"Jim you know I'll take you anywhere you want to go, or need to go… Like work—"

"How is that going to look?" he turned to her and asked, a incredulous look in his eyes. He couldn't believe she'd suggest that; the stress of making their relationship public on top of everything else seemed almost unbearable. "People are onto us, Pam—"

"So?" she shot him an angry look back, which made him surprised. _She thinks I'm mad at her_, he realized, suddenly feeling ashamed. She continued, "People are going to find out soon anyway—"

"I know, I know, just—" he exhaled sharply and cupped her cheeks with his hands, making her look into his eyes. "It's a sensitive subject. I'm sorry. I know you'd always help me, and I appreciate that. All of this is just a lot to handle right now.."

She looked down at the meridian between their seats, thinking about all he had been through, and finally looked up at him and said softly, "Let's just get you home to rest."

"Okay.. Thank you." He gave her a comforting half-smile and kissed her gently, and they drove off.

…

Jim awoke to wonderful smells coming from his kitchen. He sat up slowly, the cuts on his side still tender, and stretched lightly. He slid out of bed and threw on a t-shirt, making sure to be careful to avoid the sensitive spots on his arm and torso, and made his way down the hall into the kitchen. There she was, standing in the pajamas she had picked him up in last night, making breakfast and humming a soft tune. She hadn't heard him enter the room, and so he felt content to simply stand there and gaze at her, contemplating how wonderful the past couple months had been with her; they had truly been the happiest in his life, and thankful didn't even begin to describe how he felt to have her in his world.

"Hey there," he said almost in a whisper.

"Oh, hi!" She left her cooking and went him to give him a big hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore.. but fine otherwise. What are you making?"

"Um, eggs.. and bacon and toast. And I found some fruit in your fridge too—" She bustled around the kitchen collecting food from the different pans onto a plate and set it down on his kitchen counter.

"Yum." He took the plate and sat down at the table, and she soon joined him. He took a bite and let out a satisfied grunt, and she giggled at him as she began to eat. "So I was thinking.." he started.

"Yeah?"

"I think it would be ok if we carpooled to work.."

"Oh, okay. Are you sure? I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable—"

He shook his head, "No, it'll be fine. We just have to be careful—"

"Maybe I can drop you off like a block from work or something. It can be like a secret meeting place." He laughed at her and they continued to brainstorm how to pull it off, their ideas ranging from probable to the utterly absurd, "If people ask about it, we can just try to convince them that they were hallucinating."

"The sad part is, that would actually probably work on half of them," he told her as he finished his breakfast. "That was delicious, thank you."

"Of course."

"And—" he continued, "Thank you for picking me up and staying with me last night, and thanks for offering to drive me places—"

She held up her hands and waved them around, telling him to stop. "Jim, there's no need to thank me. I mean, it's nice of you to say, but_I_ know you're grateful, and if it was me I know you'd be doing all of this and more, so.. I guess what I'm saying is, you're welcome for everything and there's no need to _say_ 'thank you' anymore.. cause I know."

He stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say to this woman who was so in tune with him and knew just what to say to comfort him. Then it came to him, and so he went to her to give her a long kiss, their arms wrapping around each other. He looked deep into her eyes and spoke, "I love you."

Her eyes went wide and she hugged him tighter, "I love you too." They kissed again, delirious with content in each other's arms, and finally they pulled away and she said, "Let's change your bandages."

"Ok." He smiled at her and took her hand, squeezing it a little to silently tell her 'thank you.' She smiled back at him, extremely conscious of what his actions indicated, and they then went to dress his wounds.

* * *

_Reviews make me happy!_


	13. Truth Circle

_Author's note: this chapter has so much of everyone else in the office, I don't even know what to do with myself. I didn't think I'd have this one up so fast, but what can ya do when you just get into the writing zone! I hope I did a good job with the other characters, and I promise more JAM will be coming soon. Enjoy!_

* * *

"Wow man," Kevin said as he took a sip of Coke. "That must've been so scary to have some guy slam into your car out of nowhere."

"Yeah, it was really surprising at least.. I mean, I didn't really know what was happening until it was all over," Jim replied as he put money in the vending machine. Kevin had noticed the bandages on his forearm and inquired about them, and soon a small crowd had gathered in the break room as he had regaled them with the tale of his accident.

"Ohmygod Jim, that is so lucky you weren't seriously hurt," Kelly told him. "One time, I got into a car accident; it was just a fender-bender, but the back of my car was all messed up and it costed me like, hundreds of dollars to get it fixed. How's your car?"

"Oh, uh.." he shifted in his seat, recalling the phone conversation he had had with the body shop Saturday afternoon:

"_Both passenger-side doors need to be replaced, the shell of the hood and trunk need to be replaced, it needs new electrical wiring for the locks and windows, it needs replacement glass, obviously, the chassis is shot to hell, the muffler is, gone—it wasn't even attached to the car—uh, needs new tires, new shocks, and the side of the engine got bent on impact, so we need to get that replaced…"_

"It's not looking good. I'm going to call the dealer today and see what they can do for me," he informed them.

"So how are you getting around?" Oscar asked him.

"You could rent a car," Phyllis offered.

Dwight scoffed as he bought chips from the vending machine, "Those car rental places are a scam."

"How so Dwight?" Jim shot him a skeptical look.

"Well, for starters, they make you pay rental insurance, which is useless. It's like throwing a match onto a big pile of money.. but considering the situation you've found yourself in, I'd say you could use it." He munched on his chips as Jim raised an eyebrow at him.

"It wasn't Jim's fault Dwight—" Kelly spoke up, but Dwight brushed her off as he exited the break room. "Oh! Pam!" she shouted as Pam entered the room, "Did you hear? Jim got in a car crash!"

Her eyes went wide as she gave a naïve look, "Did you? Are you okay Jim?" He smiled at her as he answered; amused that she was playing dumb. She, after all, was the one who had driven him to work that morning. Their plan worked like a charm: she had dropped him off a block from the office and he had walked the rest of the way; they were executing the same plan after work, and she gave him a slight wink as she acted concerned, "Well, you look great for being in a car crash—"

Just then, Dwight rushed into the break room with an eager expression on his face. "Michael's back, and he wants all of us in the conference room, now!" The employees groaned and filed out of the room sullenly.

…

"Alright, everyone!" Michael announced as the last of the workers had taken their seats in the conference room. "As you know, Jim and I have been livin it up in Provi—slang for Providence—for the past week, and we have been learning about employee relations. So today, I thought it would be fun to teach you all what I have learned at our official, first-annual, Dunder-Mifflin Employee Appreciation Day!" He heard the sighs and conversations of protest from his workers, and so he went on, "Yes, because you are all special, and I want to, celebrate you all, even the ones I don't think are all that special.. you all have _something_ special about you.." He felt he was losing the room quickly, so he asked, "Jim, wanna help me out a bit?"

Jim sighed at stood up, joining Michael at the head of the room. "Uh, yeah, we actually learned a lot of cool team-building exercises and stuff—"

"Yes!" Michael interrupted. "Oh, the team-building exercises were awesome. Let's do that one with the housework—"

"Michael, that one is a little inappropriate—"

Ignoring Jim, Michael continued, "Okay everyone! Here's what we're gonna do! Everyone think of the housework that you like to do least, ok? Like, the chore you hate doing the most. Everyone got it? Okay, I will now demonstrate: you say, 'I don't like sex, because,' and my because is, because there's always crusty gunk around the rim—that's what she said!"

Everyone gave him disgusted looks, and so Jim felt compelled to save the situation, "Michael, how about the rock, paper, scissors one?"

Michael widened his eyes and nodded his head in approval, "Oh, okay, that one is fun."

Having given him the okay, Jim explained, "Alright, well, what you do is this: you pair off and play rock, paper scissors with someone. Whoever wins, goes and plays against someone else, and the loser becomes the cheerleader for the winner—"

"And," Michael added, "you have to be really enthusiastic. Like you have to scream and yell, and maybe do some high-kicks or cartwheels or something.." He glanced in Pam's direction and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Okay, so let's pair off and get started," Jim instructed them, and they complied accordingly. The first few minutes of the game seemed like chaos, with Andy and Michael losing to Kelly and Jim, and so they immediately began to scream for their former opponents the loudest as they went on to battle Meredith and Dwight. Finally, it came down to Stanley versus Oscar, with the entire office divided between them.

"Come on, Oscar!" Michael yelled, "Gays beat blacks any day of the week!" This made the office pause for a moment to exchange disapproving glances, and then the battle resumed. They threw their hands down after "rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" and Stanley's paper hand ended up covering Oscar's rock. "Paper always wins in this office!" Michael triumphantly announced, and all the employees discussed the game zealously.

"Alright!" Michael regained everyone's attention, "Now that we're all warmed up, we're going to do an exercise that they taught us called 'truth circle.' Now, this one, is interesting, because you have to come up with something truthful about the person that you like about them and that you do not like about them.. uh, Jim? You wanna write everyone's name on a piece of paper and put 'em in a hat and stuff?"

"Uh, sure."

"Oh, here you go," Pam offered as she held out her notepad and pen to him, which he took and began writing down names.

Michael continued, "Now the thing you don't like about them shouldn't be a put-down—they really emphasized that in the seminar—but it should be something the person can improve upon.. and if you want, you can give them suggestions about how to improve themselves. Are we ready?"

"Just.. about," Jim replied, jotting down the last of the names. "Ok, we just need a hat or something.."

"We can use my purse!" Kelly offered, dumping out the contents of her purse on the empty seat next to her. Everyone tried to ignore the pack of condoms sitting in the pile, and Michael tried to contain his laughter as he mouthed 'that's what she said' to the group.

"Thanks Kelly," Jim took it from her and put the folded pieces of paper into the purse. "Michael? Do you want to go first?"

"Abso-fruitly! Fearless leader ventures into the truth-circle first.." he pulled out a piece of paper and grimaced. "Toby. Ugh, well I _don't_ like Toby because he has an annoying little voice and is always a corporate goody-two-shoes—"

"Michael, I thought it was supposed to only be one thing you didn't like about the person—" Toby meekly spoke up.

"Ugh, that's what I'm talking about! How do you not find that irritating?" Everyone flashed judgmental looks at Michael, and so he sighed and tried to think of something positive to say, "Okay, Toby, I guess I like when you are on my side when I'm talking to corporate about negotiations and stuff.. ugh." He shuddered at what he had just said and pulled an empty chair to the front to sit, putting his face in his hands. The rest of the room sat there in silence, stunned that Michael had admitted something he liked about Toby. "Next!" Michael shouted, and everyone jolted back to the game.

"Okay, I will go," Jim announced, and he pulled a name out of the bag. "Phyllis. I like Phyllis because she seems to find unique ways to relate to her customers, but one thing she could improve upon is not taking no for an answer, cause she tends to lose a lot of clients that way.."

"Thanks Jim, I'll work on that." She smiled at him and told the group, "I'll go next." She pulled a piece of paper out of the purse, "Angela. Hmm.. I like Angela, because…"

"Do you really need that long to think?" Angela shot her a cross look.

"—Because she plans really good parties.. But she could improve on being _nicer_ to the other members of the Party Planning Committee."

Angela scowled at Phyllis, then told Jim, "Give me the bag. I am going next." She pulled out a name and exhaled sharply, "Kevin. I don't like Kevin because his mannerisms are revolting, like how you lick your fingers after eating Greek food—"

"Do you expect me to use a napkin?" he retorted.

"But.. I like when Kevin takes time to double-check that I've balanced my books correctly. There."

"Thank you Angela," Kevin gave her a smirk as she handed him the bag and he pulled out a name. "Pam. Oh, I like that she always has candy at reception. And I like how when she's walking fast in a hurry, her chest bounces—"

"Kevin, that's inappropriate.. But that is a nice feature about her," Michael interrupted as Pam folded her arms across her chest self-consciously with a violated look on her face. "Continue."

"And.. I don't like that monotone voice she uses to answer the phones. We're right next to her, so we have to hear it all day, and sometimes it gets annoying.."

Pam tilted her head and replied, "Maybe I'll try to switch it up sometime. Thanks Kevin, I'll take the bag." He passed it over to her and she pulled out a piece of paper, "Jim." She exhaled heavily as she thought about how to approach her answer. She wondered what mundane response she could give that summed up their perfect summer together, much less their years of close friendship and unrequited love for each other. She glanced up at him and he raised his eyebrows at her; she couldn't help but laugh a bit, "I don't like that he's always interrupting my work by incessantly taking jellybeans from me—"

"Oh, you love that," he replied in a mocking tone.

"But I like that he seems really personable with his clients, and is just friendly toward everyone.." she trailed off and they smiled at each other, the rest of the room nodding in agreement. The rest of the group took their turns, each managing to find one positive and negative thing to say about their respective person, until finally it came to Andy, who had the last name in the purse.

"Dwight. Well," Andy pondered what to say, "Dwight is a fine salesman, and I can appreciate that.. but I guess he's a little rigid for my taste." The group exchanged glances, knowing Andy was holding back but not going to say a word to coax more out of him. Dwight glared at him, wondering what he meant by 'ridged,' but Michael interjected before he could speak up.

"Alright, great work everyone! That went surprisingly well, actually," Michael commented. "The only outburst we had was from Meredith, and by the way, Mer, you really _shouldn't_ be drinking on the job—" Meredith responded to him by giving him the finger as she slurped her large drink, and so he continued, "Let's all take lunch, and we will meet back here for some more team-building fun! Pam, can I see you for a sec?"

"Sure," she replied as everyone filed out of the conference room. "What is it, Michael?"

"Um.. what would you have said about me for that game?"

Pam's eyes went wide with alarm, "Uh, well, I liked Stanley's answer.."

"_Michael, I don't like that you are always interrupting my work with these stupid games. But I like that you are still willing to pay me for all the wasted time."_

"But," Michael scratched his chin, "what would you have said?"

"I would have said, 'Michael, I like that you put a lot of time into inspiring people… You just need to take work-related things a little more seriously."

He looked at her doubtfully, "Oh, serious? I''m not serious, Pam? Well," He ran into his office and grabbed a notepad and pen and began scribbling notes down, "It is going to get serious. Go get these things from the store."

He handed her the list and she looked at it with a confused expression on her face, "A dozen eggs? Fifteen boxes of straws? Michael, what—"

"Just go do it," he snapped at her and she recoiled. "This is serious, and work-related. Team-building is essential for good work. Be quick about it too; no dilly-dallying!"

Pam hung her head and went to get her purse, making sure to motion to her partner in crime to tag along. He eagerly jumped up from his seat and slipped out with her.

"Where are we going?" he asked as they stepped in the elevator.

"To the store. Michael wants me to pick these up—" She handed him the list and a smile crept upon his face.

He shook his head, "Oh Michael.. Want to go somewhere for lunch too?"

"Definitely. We're in no hurry." The smiled at each other as the elevator doors closed.

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_As per the chapter, tell me one thing you liked and one thing you didn't: review please!_


	14. Eggs and Teamwork

_Author's note: this is the last chapter! I know, it kind of crept up on me, but I felt this was a good way to wrap it up. But if you want more, you should go watch season four of the actual show, cause that's where this picks up at the end. This was my first fanfic story _ever_, and I hope it didn't disappoint. If you liked this, you should check out my other stories, two of which are in-progress works, as well as my favorite authors. And, as always, enjoy and review!_

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"You may be asking yourself," Michael declared to a solemn group, "'why am I on the roof holding an egg?' Well, it's for our final team building exercise, called 'Rockabye Baby,' in which you have to make a cradle out of straws for your egg, your _baby_, and then drop it from a great height so see if your cradle is strong enough to not break the baby all over the parking lot. The team that wins, gets a special prize."

"What's the prize?" asked Meredith.

Michael held his hand above his eyes to shade them so he could see her. "Um, it's a surprise prize, okay? But it's a good one, so you want to win."

"Is it something stupid," Stanley said more as a warning than a question.

"No, it is not something _stupid_. It is very very cool, and you would all like to win it."

Dwight raised his hand, "Question: is the prize a Dundie?"

"No, it's not a Dundie, it's just—" he sighed with exasperation and the group chuckled amongst themselves. "Just get into your teams of two like I paired you downstairs." The group reluctantly moved into formation and Michael took a headcount, "Okay.. mommies and daddies: Phyllis-Creed, Kelly-Andy, Oscar-Dwight, Meredith-Stanley, Pam-Jim, and Angela-Kevin. Good!" He put his hands on his hips and sighed, satisfied with his verdict.

Oscar raised his hand, "Was it really necessary to put me on a team with another man?"

"Just so we're clear, you're the mommy in this relationship, _Nancy_," Dwight stated with his arms folded. Oscar shook his head.

"Well Oscar," Michael explained, "I'm sorry, if we don't have enough women in the workplace for you, but that's just the way things are nowadays. Besides, Dwight will be a great partner! He always helps me out." The group exchanged glances as Michael handed out the boxes of straws, "Okay, you have your egg, you have your straws, so start brainstorming and I will come around with your allotted amount of tape." No one moved, which aggravated Michael to shout, "Go!" and then everyone slowly scattered to different parts of the roof.

The couple made their way over to where their folding chairs were and made innocent small talk, "So did you guys do this exercise at your seminar?" Pam asked as she unfolded her chair.

"Yep. But, we weren't so deliberately paired-up in boy-girl teams, which made it a lot less offensive."

She smirked at him and he couldn't help but laugh. "Did you have a prize for the winner?"

He shook his head, "Um, no, actually. But uh, in all honesty, I don't think Michael has a prize for us either. I mean, it'll probably end up being a pack of Post-it notes or something." They laughed and chatted, and soon Michael arrived with a long strand of tape for them.

"Here you are, lord and lady," he bowed and Pam took the tape from him and stuck it on the arm of her chair. The two stared at him for a moment in awkward silence, and finally Michael asked, "So, team Jam, what's your attack plan?"

"Excuse me?" Jim cocked his head to the side and waited for an explanation.

"Celebrity couple names. They're all the rage."

"Oh, did you read that in Tiger Beat?" he asked mockingly.

"Michael, we're not a couple.." Pam tried to say. They exchanged an uneasy glance.

"No, I know. Neither are Phyllis and Creed, but they're still 'Cryllis.' And Kelly and Andy are 'Kandy.'"

"'Cryllis' sounds like some kind of fish," Pam made a face and Michael looked annoyed.

"Well fine. I was just trying to make things extra-fun, but if you two want to be spoilsports then go ahead." He walked away in a huff and left team Jam stifling their laughter.

"You know what's a cute one that doesn't fit them at all?" Pam asked.

"What?"

"Meredith and Stanley." She pointed to the two of them, both sitting on the ground looking tremendously uninterested.

"Team Mereley," he responded, and they both smiled at each other and began work on their cradle. They weren't the only ones discussing Michael's team names for everyone: on the other side of the roof, Kelly kept yammering on about how adorable her celebrity couple name with Andy was as he tried to maintain concentration on their cradle.

"I mean, Kandy is just such a super-cute couple name! Much better than Kryan… which I now realize sounds like 'crying,' which is what I feel like doing all the time now that Ryan is gone.."

"Kelly, just shut up for two seconds, ok? I'm having a hard enough time as it is; _Dwight_," he emphasized, shooting a look to the team on his left, "crumpled up our piece of tape, rendering it unusable, and Michael said we can't have another one."

"It's called sabotage," Dwight muttered to him. "It's a strategy."

"Well, it's a pretty underhanded strategy if you ask me," Andy retorted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I didn't hear anyone ask you." Dwight turned back to his partner, who was shaping their cradle to look like a pyramid. "Oscar, you idiot! The cradle has to be a football shape for the most protection on impact!"

"Ok, that's it. I'm done. I'm going to go do real work." Oscar stood and walked to the roof door to return to his work, but found the door locked. He jiggled it a bit, but it wouldn't budge.

"Looking for this?" Michael asked, holding up the key to the door.

"You locked us up here?" Angela looked up from her team's project and scowled.

"Yep. Just until our team-building exercise is over. So Oscar, that means you have to go work out your issues as a _team_. Go sit back down." Oscar threw up his hands and reluctantly went back to his teammate, who decided he needed a little more verbal abuse.

"Yeah Oscar, we're a team. But with me having superior intellect, our team is more like an army with me as the first brigade and you as the reserved troops." Several people shot disapproving looks in Dwight's direction, and Andy chose to speak up on Oscar's behalf.

"You know man, this is what I meant when I said you were rigid."

"What?"

"You, try to act so _freaking_ serious, and it annoys the crap out of everyone. I mean, did you _really_ need to say that to Oscar? Do you _really_ need to act all macho all the time? And did you_really_ need to crumple up our tape? Cause, it's making it_really_ hard to make this _stupid_ cradle, and I'm just getting, really, _really_, irritated…" The office workers were staring at Andy now, ready for him to burst, but those around him could see him trying patiently to count to ten as Dwight glared angrily at him.

"Oh, do I need to bring out my pepper spray again to calm you down?" And with Dwight's final remark, Andy lost it. With a loud holler resembling a battle cry, he seized his team's egg from Kelly's hands and chucked it at Dwight, splattering it all over his suit. Dwight's eyes widened with shock and wrath, and so he too grabbed his egg from Oscar to retaliate. The egg hit Andy on the shoulder, and so he began to charge toward Dwight in a fit of rage, but he found himself being restrained by Jim and Kevin.

"Let me at him! He deserves it!" Andy shouted.

Jim sighed under his breath, "I know.."

"Hey! Hey! What's all this?" Michael shouted as he ran toward both egg-drenched workers. "Oh, come on! Andy, I expected this from you. But Dwight? Ugh—" He put his face in his hands, trying to think of how to handle the situation as the two of them calmed down and Andy was let go. "Okay. Both of you are disqualified. Oscar and Kelly, you guys can work as a team if you like.. but Andy and Dwight are going to get to clean up all the egg dropped on the parking lot, ok? God! This whole thing was about team-building you guys! Have you not learned anything?"

"I have learned not to anger Andy Bernard anymore—" Dwight muttered.

"Yeah, or else you end up with egg on your face," added Jim, in which he accordingly received an elbow nudge from Pam.

"Alright, so both of you get down to the parking lot. Now!.. please. Ugh. And you better work as a team when you get down there!" he shouted at them as they unlocked the roof door and ran down the stairs. "Does everyone else have their cradles?" Michael asked, and without waiting for anyone to respond he continued, "Good. Ok, so let's drop 'em!" With that, everyone gathered by the ledge of the roof and he inquired, "Do we have volunteers to go first?"

Jim raised his hand and stepped up, "We'll go."

"Alright! Team Jam!" Michael applauded for them enthusiastically. "Anything you want to say about working in a team to the group? You know, I want to make sure you've all actually gotten _something_ out of this.."

"I'll say something," Pam offered, and Michael gave her the floor. "I just want to say that, even though a lot of people think this exercise is kind of pointless, it really does teach you how to work together and brainstorm and.. stuff. I mean, figuring out how to keep this egg from breaking is a lot like how to successfully sell paper: everyone needs to do their part and listen to each other and the job will get done."

Jim decided to jump in with his own sentiments, "And, I think that you have to have a sense of humility, also.." he glanced at his girlfriend, who had a look of interest on her face of where he was going with his speech. He thought about how they had let each other into their lives over the summer, through art classes, baseball games, and meeting family and friends. But the best part of their summer together had been everything they were willing to try to do for each other, and he pondered how to phrase what he wanted to say to her in the form of a dialogue to the rest of the office. "You have to, be willing to compromise for the good of.. your coworkers. And, yeah, you have to be willing to listen, and, uh.."

"Communicate." Pam filled in, understanding he wasn't really talking about teamwork in the office anymore. Her smile beamed uncontrollably.

"Right. And supporting each other is really important too. I mean, Michael is always talking about how we're a family, and he kind of has something there. You know, we probably spend more time with each other than we do with our own families, so we may as well be able to count on each other like family can—"

"Okay, Mr. Rogers, that's enough out of you," Michael interrupted and stepped in front of them, trying to steal the spotlight. "Just drop your egg and see if it breaks."

He looked down at Dwight, who was now standing in the parking lot with Andy. "Gladly," Jim replied, and with that, he aimed their cradle and let it drop. Everyone leaned over the edge to see it fall, and regrettably, the cradle turned out to be very poorly constructed. Dwight was, again, covered in egg.

…

The next morning, everyone seemed extremely cordial to each other. Stanley replaced the coffee after he had taken the last bit of it, Kevin helped Angela get a binder from a high shelf without her asking, and even Creed did his part by lighting a scented candle after using the ladies' room. Jim and Pam couldn't help but see good deeds being done everywhere, and they exchanged a glance and wondered if their words had actually been taken to heart.

Pam was especially happy to have everyone being friendly to her instead of just demanding she do things, and so she hummed a little tune as she checked her email. "Ugh, so much spam," she commented as she clicked on a random email and read to herself, "See 'One Night in Paris,' yours to download for only $5.99…" She glanced up at her unsuspecting boyfriend and decided this was an opportunity for a prank, so she clicked on the link. Without warning, the colors on her screen became inverted, and a look of worry appeared on her face. Not trying to panic, she swiftly got the company IT man on the phone and described her problem, and he told her he'd be right out to her.

Since she wasn't able to work on her computer, she decided to visit her favorite spot in the office. She sat herself down on the edge of Jim's desk and sighed, prompting him to ask, "What's up?"

"My computer crashed. I called the IT guy and he said he'd be right here, but I can't do anything until then."

"That sucks for you," he told her in a mocking tone, and she replied by sticking her tongue out at him. "Hey, um.." he motioned for her to lean in closer. "Can you still give me a ride home today?"

She nodded at his request and whispered, "I'll see you at the secret spot." She gave him a wink and noticed the IT guy walking in, so she jumped up and met him at her desk, where she began to explain the problem, "Yeah, I don't know.. the colors on the screen turned inverted, and then it did this." She pointed at her screen, which looked like a scramble of colors.

"Okay, what were you doing prior to this happening?" the IT man asked as he sat down at her computer and began typing. Pam bit her lip as Jim came and leaned on her desk beside her.

"Oh, I was just checking my email.. sorting through some spam.."

"Spam?" the IT guy repeated as he typed and her screen slowly returned to life, and she nodded to him.

"Yeah, I think I accidentally clicked on an offer for something…"

He looked at her skeptically and told her, "You know, generally it's a good idea to click on any internet offers that you haven't requested.. What was the exact offer?"

She looked down, ashamed to admit anything with Jim standing right there. "It was for a.. video."

The IT man continued to type. "Yeah, what kind of video?"

"A.. celebrity sex tape," she muttered, and Jim's eyes widened. She was busted.

"Really? What kind of celebrity?" he asked her curiously.

"Not relevant."

"How much did you pay for it?"

She shook her head, "Not.. relevant."

He looked up at her with a shocked and amused expression, "You paid for it—"

"It all happened so fast!" They laughed and chatted as the IT guy worked, and it wasn't long before her computer was back to normal. She thanked him and sat down at her desk just as Michael arrived, looking worried. He said he had some bad news…

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_Well guys, it all worked out in the end. The hero got the girl! Who saw that coming? I did. I hope you enjoyed it, and please remember to review the story so I can improve my writing skills. Big thanks to the chapter-by-chapter reviewers, __ilovepeterpetrelli, maddikinz940, Avila Grace, MrsBigTuna, and kerber1920; you guys rock my world, and I loved getting all your reviews! And, as they say in Spring Awakening: peace and joy be with you, harmony and wisdom._


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